Vincent's Revenge
by Yumesuta
Summary: VinTif. Vincent’s fed up with Cloud: He never stopped mourning after the loss of Aeris, he does stupid things, and he stole something precious from Vincent—his solitude. So, for revenge, Vincent steals something precious from Cloud…
1. Vincent's Evil Plan

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII, its characters, places, and anything else in it do not belong to me. I am not creating this story for profit. I am creating this story for the entertainment of myself and, most hopefully, others.

Note: Naw, I ain't always as proper as I was in that there disclaimer.

Second Note: Vincent may be a bit OOC in the entire fic, which makes sense considering what this fic is about, and I apologize if any of the other characters are.

Third Note: I love Cloud! He's one of my favorite characters! But I couldn't think of any other reason for Vincent to kidnap Tifa without making the fic completely AU, so I did this. Minor Cloud bashing—I apologize. Also, my summary is correct: NO SLASH. That means NO VincentCloud pairing. Sorry if you thought there was.

Summary: VinTif. Vincent's fed up with Cloud: He never stopped mourning after the loss of Aeris, he does stupid things, and he stole something precious from Vincent—his solitude. So, for revenge, Vincent steals something precious from Cloud…

* * *

Chapter 1: Vincent's Evil Plan

Lightning never stopped flashing outside Rocket Town, making the team stuck inside the inn. Cid had refused to fly his precious Highwind in such stormy weather; it was Cloud's fault they were stuck in the town anyway. The team was ready to go to Northern Crater and defeat Sephiroth once and for all—but the spiky-haired man wanted to stock up on supplies and see everywhere they'd been once more in case they never made it out.

That didn't make him a wimp; no, Tifa wanted to do the sightseeing thing as well. Yuffie'd put off the big fight as long as possible. Cait Sith was scared stiff. Cid didn't want to leave the Highwind so soon. RedXIII wanted to visit his grandfather a lot before he actually died. Barret wanted to find Marlene. It wasn't a bad thing—honestly, it was almost everyone's fault. But it was _Cloud_, the leader, who let them all put it off.

Even Vincent had a reason not to want to go to the Northern Crater—he'd have to kill his son. But he was ready; the lone gunner had never really bonded with his son, and probably never would.

Maybe it was the storm that was pissing Vincent off; maybe it was everyone's procrastination. He respected everyone on the team, yes, but that didn't mean he actually liked anyone.

But it was CLOUD who was starting to aggravate him.

Long, long before he was stuck in this lightning storm, Cloud was the one that had stolen Vincent's prize: his solitude. Continually on the trip, right on the precise moment that the dark-haired gunner wanted to be alone, Cloud would call him down for a group meeting, or send someone else—"Cloud wants to meet us in the hall, Vince, come on."

Don't misunderstand. The ex-Turk liked that spiky-haired man

Don't misunderstand. Yes, Vincent respected Cloud, even admired his bravery at times, but enough was enough! He had stolen the ex-Turk's solitude, his prized feeling, so the crimson-eyed man pondered over a way to return the favor.

There would be no killing, of course—he didn't want any more blood on his hands than his past already granted him. Besides, Vincent had no great desire to dispose of the ex-SOLDIER. Even if he wanted to, the others would be upset, and he respected them enough to not want them upset with him. He wouldn't care too much, but enough that murder was a route he did not want to take.

So how would he make his revenge? Steal something back?

Vincent moved slowly across his temporary bedroom, staring out the rain-splattered window, into the darkness and the vague reflection the window gave.

"I've tried to tolerate it, but even now I can't be alone," he muttered softly to himself, his stare sliding over to his sleeping roommate, RedXIII. "I can't be alone ANYWHERE. I could steal something precious of his, but what? His sword? That would be pointless, as he could easily buy more…kidnap someone, perhaps? Yes…that may work…it wouldn't give me much solitude though."

RedXIII snorted, but luckily for Vincent he was still asleep.

"It may get the point across, though…but who do I kidnap?"

He pondered over his teammates. Yuffie annoyed Cloud. Cloud didn't seem close to Barret or Cid. If he kidnapped Cait Sith he'd only be doing everyone a favor. Aeris was dead. RedXIII was friends with Cloud, but they weren't that close. Vincent couldn't really kidnap himself, and the spiky-haired man might not have much use for him anymore anyway, not after he had already revealed everything he knew about Sephiroth.

That just left Tifa.

But what exactly _was_ the relationship between Cloud and Tifa? Tifa was very close to Cloud, as she stayed with him when he had Mako poisoning, and they had known each other for a very long time. Cloud _did_ seem to value the woman…

"Then she's the target," Vincent breathed.

"Hmm?" said the red dog-like teammate Vincent was rooming with.

Vincent looked over his shoulder—his roommate was merely talking in his sleep. The dog-like warrior rolled over onto his back and his leg twitched once; then he was sound asleep.

How would the quiet gunman manage to kidnap Tifa? He knew she was a very good fighter—a better fighter than Aeris was or Yuffie is, and you couldn't simply take away her weapon to make her powerless. She fought with her fists. Vincent certainly didn't want to make her look weak, either…he admitted that he might like her a little bit (not in "that" way), and he definitely respected her a lot.

"There may not be a choice," he muttered as he grabbed some of his Materia, his current gun, wrote a short note for Cloud, and exited the room.

* * *

Tifa stared out her window, watching the lightning flash across the storm-dulled sky. Though the sound of the pouring rain was loud, the woman found a kind of solace in its unsteady, though rhythmic, melody. She pressed her hand against the cool, smooth glass, feeling the icy coldness of the cool water on the other side.

"C'mon, Tifa, quit starin' out that window! You've been lookin' out it for fifteen minutes!" Yuffie groaned, bouncing on her mattress.

The dark-haired martial artist turned her head to look over her shoulder at her roommate. "Why don't you want me to look out the window?" she asked, smiling.

"I can't sleep with the light on and I'm TIRED! Your bed's the one closest to the window so you can stare out there all night if you freakin' want to!" The ninja sighed and stood up. "Come ooooon! Pleeeeease! At least turn off the light!"

Tifa laughed. "Okay, okay." She went over to the light switch to turn off the light, when there was a knock on the door.

"UGH!" Yuffie screeched, and dove under the covers in an attempt to block out the light. The storm raging outside gave up and became a weak drizzle.

The older dark-haired woman rolled her eyes and cracked open the door. "Hello?"

"Er…hello, Tifa," Vincent said in a slightly awkward tone of voice.

Tifa's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Vincent," she said, opening the door wider. "Hi there! Need something?"

"No, not really…" The man took a breath. "Do you want to go for a walk or something?"

"Well there's a surprise," the woman smiled, turning off the light switch (which was met by the joyous cries of Yuffie inside the room). She slowly, quietly closed the door behind her as she stepped out. "Is there something that you need to talk about?"

"Not particularly," Vincent said, a weak smile appearing on his lips. "Unless there's something _you_ need to talk about?"

Tifa smiled, turning her head slightly, though still looking at him. She was suspicious of this new, more social Vincent; but also glad he had decided to loosen up a bit.

The new, dark green carpet that covered the otherwise wooden floor muffled their footsteps. The two were the only living creatures that seemed to be in that particular hallway; everyone else was in their rooms, either conversing or sleeping.

"The entire town's changed a lot," Tifa observed, glancing quickly out the window as they passed one. "I think the inn changed the most though…it's so much bigger now, and nicer."

"The last time we came here was a long time ago…weeks before Aeris died," Vincent muttered back, staring straight ahead of him. A small feeling of dread and regret began to grow inside him for what he planned to do; this feeling was washed away by his anger at Cloud—an anger that most likely was only reasonable to the lone gunman himself.

Tifa sighed, not really wanting to talk about Aeris. She wasn't the only one that had mourned the loss of the brunette Cetra. They had been friends. "I think the rain stopped," she said, not hearing the beat of the falling water anymore.

"In that case, would you like to walk outside?" Vincent asked.

"Sure, why not…"

Few stars were shining outside; the sky was still overcast even though the storm had completely stopped. Tifa wasn't really paying attention, though. In fact, she didn't even notice that she was walking alone and had exited Rocket Town until she looked up to speak to Vincent and found that he was gone.

"Vincent?" She called out. She wasn't nervous—she could fight off the monsters and right when her journey started, she knew that the dark was a silly thing to be afraid of.

When no reply came to her, she called out again. "Vincent?" At that time, she was starting to feel a prickle of fear grow inside her—the fear that something had happened to her companion.

Tifa turned around, and was surprised at how far away from Rocket Town she had walked, and wondered how long she had been alone.

"Vin—"

A muffled scream escaped her as a warm hand closed around her mouth and an arm wrapped around her waist from behind, pinning her own arms to her side.

* * *

Yumesuta: That's chapter 1! I know it moved kinda slow but I promise it gets better. Anyway, review! Please! If it totally sucks I'll take it down. I'll also take down the story if no one reviews… 


	2. Cloud's Anger

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Note: Wow, I didn't think this idea would be so popular! Thanks to all my reviewers, I guess I have to keep the story going now, eh?

Second Note: No, Vincent's not evil, he's just fed up. And yes, I do like Cloud. Sorry if the fic's moving to fast!

* * *

Chapter 2: Cloud's Anger

The morning came swiftly enough for Cloud, who, at the moment, had no clue of what had happened during the night. He crawled sleepily off of the couch he had slept on (he had to share a room with both Cid and Barret, knowing everyone would rip his throat out if he claimed a room of his own) and ran a comb through his hair.

The comb didn't do much good—it was still as spiky as ever. No matter how much he insisted he had never used hair gel in his life, no one had actually believed him.

His two roommates were still snoring in their beds, so the spiky-haired leader went down to the lobby, the desire to wait for them not very great.

As it was morning and not the middle of the night, a few people were awake. Most of the footsteps taken were quiet because of the carpet, but every now and then a kid or two would run down the hall, their feet crashing against the ground. The noise wasn't too loud, but it was still noticeable.

"Hi, Cloud." Yuffie slid out of the not-so-creaky chair she had been in and left Red to shake the braids he had begrudgingly allowed the ninja to put in his mane.

"…Yuffie," he greeted. Still being slightly tired from just waking up, he didn't have the enthusiasm that Yuffie seemed to lack today.

_Wait…Yuffie, not hyper…something is wrong here,_ he thought. He scanned the lobby and saw various other traveling people, but not Tifa, who was usually the first one to wake up.

"Where's Tifa?" he asked, scanning the room several more times to make sure she was really absent and not just standing behind a large group of people or something similar.

"She's…gone," Yuffie sighed. "She went to take a walk with Vincent last night, and I fell asleep while she was gone and when I woke up she wasn't there and so I thought maybe she was down here and when I woke up she, like, wasn't and so—"

"I get the picture," Cloud interrupted.

Red trotted over, cringing slightly as the dark-haired ninja attacked his mane once again with braids. "Vincent hasn't returned, either."

Cloud couldn't think of anything to say, so he went back to his room. Apparently his two roommates were no longer in there, as the room was basically void of any type of life, but he didn't care too much. That's when he noticed a small sheet of paper on the table next to the couch.

It was addressed to him, so he read it.

That's when Yuffie and Red ran into the room to see what he was screaming about.

* * *

Tifa wasn't really sure where she was. The room was cold and as she opened her eyes, she noticed that the room was dimly lit and her breath made small, puffy clouds in front of her face. There was a thin blanket over her, and she realized that she must have been lying on some sort of old couch. Her hands were shaking, both with cold and fear. Another blanket, this one much warmer, was suddenly tossed over her and she looked up.

"Vincent?" she muttered. The crimson eyes staring back at her, covered slightly in longish ebon hair, were easily recognizable.

The man said nothing and began to exit the room.

"V-Vincent," Tifa stuttered, sitting up as she pulled the warmer blanket tighter around her. Then she realized it wasn't just some red velvet blanket she was clutching. It was Vincent's cape.

She'd never seen the ex-Turk without his cape before. Garbed entirely now in black (besides his golden claw and headband), he looked just a little bit different.

Vincent turned his head over his shoulder, his breath puffing warm clouds in front of him as well. However, he appeared to not be bothered by cold.

"Yes?" he muttered.

"Where are we, and what the hell is going on?" the brunette demanded, standing up. She thrust the cape back onto the couch and yanked the sheet off of it, wrapping it around her, desperate for some warmth.

Vincent stared lightly at his captive, and moved towards the door. "We're here, and that's all you need to know." Did he feel bad about this? Yes, but no one would ever know unless he told them.

* * *

_Cloud,_

_I assume you are aware that neither Tifa nor I (Vincent, in case you didn't know who wrote this note) are present this morning. She is with me. If you wish to search for her, go ahead. However, she will not be in your hands again if you do not let me return to my solitude. Yes, my reasons for doing this may be slim, but allowing me to join your group with the knowledge that I am a former Turk appeared to be a risk you were willing to take. _

_I can assure you that my hand will not take Tifa's life. That, though, is all I can completely assure you. Have a good day…_

—_Vincent_

"That's just damn messed up," Barret observed. Cloud had begrudgingly let the rest of the team (minus Aeris for obvious reasons, Tifa, and Vincent) read the note.

"You think?" Cloud snapped irritably.

"Uh. So what do we do?" Yuffie asked, her voice frighteningly cheerful, considering what was going on.

"How should I know?" the spiky-haired blonde growled.

"You ARE the &$! leader for a reason," Cid muttered.

Cloud snatched the note from whoever had it at the time and crumpled it viciously. "I am going to KILL him," he snarled to no one in particular.

* * *

The brunette martial artist observed the tiny room where she was. It didn't have any windows, so she had no clue as to where her location was. Vincent had been gone for at least half an hour, and there was little to do in the miniscule building. There were three rooms in it: one bathroom, one bedroom with a small bed and a couch, and a third one that must have been the kitchen/dining room as it only contained a couch, a table and three chairs, and an old-looking refrigerator. There wasn't even a microwave, at least, not one that Tifa could see.

The door to the outside world was also in this room, although it was heavily locked from both the outside and the inside. She couldn't figure out how to work the interior locks, so if a murderer who knew how to unlock the outside locks came to this house-type place, she was, in short, screwed.

Just as she thought that, there was a noise from outside the door.

* * *

Yumesuta: Sorry it took so long to update! And sorry this chapter wasn't as good/as long as the last one. Eh. Well, anyway, REVIEW! Please…? 


	3. So Kill Me!

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII just isn't mine…if it was, I'd be a multi-billionaire. But I'm not.

Note: Remember, no reviews means I TAKE THE STORY DOWN!

Second Note: Yeah, this is gonna be a VinTif/Tincent/whatever you want to call it, but there might be SOME Cloti, but no Cloud kissing Tifa. It'll probably just be something light, like them missing each other, and hugging when Cloud finds Tifa, but no kissing. The kissing will, in later chapters, be only between Vincent and Tifa. What chapters, you say? You'll just have to find out…I promise it'll be sweet though.

Third Note: This is NOT a Clouffie. Yuffie's just hyper and odd that way…

* * *

Chapter 3: So Kill Me!

It wasn't a mass murderer that entered the small place, but Vincent. Tifa caught a breath of outside air, and then the door creaked close.

"Where were you, and WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" the angry brunette demanded. "I KNOW I'm probably not supposed to be here right now!"

Vincent sighed and set a small paper bag full of food (that's why he had went out—to buy food) in the refrigerator and turned to face his captive. Red eyes met red eyes, both pairs displaying some sort of wariness.

The crimson-eyed man explained to Tifa why they were in this place, and, as he expected, the response given wasn't a happy one.

The woman's cinnamon eyes flared, fists clenched the way they were clenched before she delivered the final blow to an enemy. "Vincent," she snarled.

"Yes?" he asked. The calmness in his voice disturbed her.

"I…I could KILL you right now…!" she snapped, kicking the refrigerator. It shook, but luckily, didn't fall over.

Vincent tilted his head to one side, and reached for his Death Penalty.

Tifa gasped, thinking at first that he was going to shoot her…

…But instead, he handed the sleek black weapon to her.

"…Wh-what do you want me to do with this?" she stuttered.

"Well," Vincent sighed, the wooden floor making his metallic footsteps echo loudly as he took two steps towards her. "You said you wanted to kill me…so go ahead…kill me…"

The brunette woman gaped at the weapon in her hand and held it as she saw Vincent hold it in battle, and pointed it at him, a fierce, determined look flashing in her eye. She placed her unoccupied hand over her eyes and turned her head away, not yet pulling the trigger. Vincent gazed at her, waiting patiently.

…But she just couldn't pull the trigger. So, instead, she let her hands fall to her side, dropped the gun and kicked it so that it slid somewhat noisily to Vincent's feet. He picked it up and sheathed it in his belt.

If the man could smirk, he'd be smirking, but the demons within him didn't allow him to smirk. So instead, he asked quietly, "Why didn't you?"

"…I just can't kill someone I know," she sighed.

"You know Sephiroth…"

"Yes, but not very well. Besides, he killed my parents, burned down my hometown, killed my best friend, manipulated Cloud, and…well, you get the picture, don't you? You never really did anything that bad to me…" Tifa bit her lip, then glared. "I wouldn't have any trouble busting your head in, though," she snarled.

"Go ahead," the ex-Turk invited, his face emotionless.

Tifa took in a deep breath, and her gloved fist met harshly with the side of her captive's head multiple times.

* * *

No one really knew what to say to Cloud. No words seemed comforting enough, and watching him sit on his navy-blue couch/bed all day sulking didn't bring much cheer to his team members, either. Even his normally sharp, spiky blonde hair seemed to be drooping.

"Poor guy," Yuffie muttered sympathetically as she peeked through the keyhole. "He hasn't moved…"

"How long has he been in there, anyway?" Red asked gruffly, trotting up to meet his braid-obsessed friend. As he expected, her fingers attacked his main once again, but he was getting used to it by now. _They just shake out since she doesn't have any rubber bands, anyway,_ the red beast thought.

"Twenty four damn hours," Barret said, shrugging. "Jes' leave his spiky ass alone and he'll come back out eventually."

"Aren't you worried about Tifa?" Red asked.

Barret blinked. "Damn! After about a year of workin' with her, I think I'd be able to tell she can kick anyone's ass if she damn well felt like it!" He stomped out of the hallway, then looked briefly over his shoulder at the ninja and one-eyed dog. "By the way, yer ?$#& breakfast is waitin'!" With that, he went to join Cid, his new cursing buddy, in the lobby.

Red blinked with his good eye and looked at Yuffie. "Are you coming down?"

"I'll meet ya there," the ninja said.

"Okay." With that, he trotted off to where Cid and Barret were.

Yuffie peeked through the keyhole again, ran down to where breakfast was being served, piled a bunch of doughnuts hastily onto a bright blue paper plate, and trotted back up to Cloud's room.

"Doughnuts!" she said happily, shoving the plate into his lap after she forcefully opened the heavy oaken door.

The depressed former Soldier glanced up, and though the rest of his body (right down to his hair) displayed his sorrow, his brilliant blue-green eyes remained relatively emotionless, though there was a flash missing from them.

When he didn't respond, Yuffie practically forced a doughnut into his mouth. "Eat! You're not gonna become one of those anorexic people!"

Cloud swallowed the sugary baked good and wiped the crumbs off of his mouth with the back of his glove, setting the obnoxiously blue paper plate onto the dark red table beside him. "Thanks," he grumbled, his usually confident voice barely audible.

"Y'know," Yuffie observed, sitting next to her leader on the couch. "You're too depressed! And you blame EVERYTHING on yourself! It ain't yer fault!"

Cloud sighed, shaking his head. "I already lost Aeris, and I can't lose Tifa."

"But the note itself said that he wouldn't kill Tifa!" the dark-haired ninja said, exasperated.

"Notes can lie," Cloud breathed.

Yuffie scowled. "Oh SURE! Care this much about those two! But if somethin' happened to the REST of us, guess who wouldn't give a damn! YOU!"

The blonde man raised his eyebrows. "I'd care, as long as the one missing didn't capture, hurt, rape, murder, or otherwise violate a fellow team member."

Yuffie grinned. "I KNEW you weren't an idiot!" she squealed, flinging her arms around his neck. Cloud cringed and pried her off.

"We're gonna leave to search for her tomorrow, because today we need to rest up and stuff. Go tell the others," he said, the confident tone of voice emerging again when he spoke.

Yuffie stuffed a doughnut into her mouth. "Yeth thir!" she said, saluting.

Cloud wandered over to the window and gazed out into the distance. The clear, tranquil blue sky seemed to mock his sorrow, and he clenched his fists.

"Tifa…"

* * *

After many painful minutes of getting his head beat, Vincent sat down on the couch, his natural hand pressed against a spot where he had started to bleed.

"Did you get the message?" Tifa snapped.

Vincent nodded, and sighed. "Yes, I understand that you are a very angry woman right now."

"…I didn't mean to make you bleed though," she whispered apologetically.

"No permanent harm done…besides, that may be the only time I'll allow you to do such a thing. If you attack me again, I will fight back," the crimson-eyed man said warningly.

"…You LET me attack you…"

"Yes. As I said, that may be the only time," Vincent grumbled.

Tifa shook her head and stared up at the drab ceiling. This just didn't seem real…

* * *

Yumesuta: Yay, a fast update! Well, I hope you liked it…read my author's notes at the beginning, please, if you want any confusion to be cleared up! Or you can ask questions in your reviews. Which reminds me…REVIEW! 


	4. Clearing Things Up

Disclaimer: No part of the Final Fantasy series belongs to me. I just write pathetic little fanfiction stories for it sometimes.

Note: I'm not threatening you…but I'm not lying…if you don't review, I don't know if anyone's reading it, so I take down the story. It's like that. So if you read the story can't you at least spend thirty seconds or so writing a short little review? Please? I love my reviewers! Anyone who's reviewed so far gets a virtual cookie! Here! Take it out of my virtual cookie basket!

Second Note: There's no CloudxTifa in this fic…don't believe me? Don't worry! This chapter should explain what I mean.

* * *

Chapter 4: Clearing Things Up

"There is…something that I have to ask you, Tifa. I apologize in advance if my question is too personal. If that is the case, you do not have to answer," Vincent said, standing in the doorway of the room Tifa had assumed was the living room. The light was dim and shadowed the man, but the brunette woman could clearly see his crimson eyes. That gave her captor a chilling air—a mostly shadowed face, but glowing, red eyes. His shining golden arm with sharp-looking claws and gunmanship that could kill anyone (except for, of course, Sephiroth) with a single speeding bullet made him formidable even when he was your friend. When he was your captor, even if he wasn't going to kill you, his appearance was that of a villain.

Or, to Tifa, almost that of a villain.

"Ask away," she muttered, pulling the blanket she had been provided tighter around her.

"…Is Cloud your boyfriend?"

Tifa's jaw dropped slightly. Whatever question she had been expecting, this wasn't it.

"Well, uh…" She scratched her head. "Not really. I mean—yes, we're close, very close. But he's not my boyfriend…I trust him more than I trust anyone, and I consider him my best friend. He's like my older brother and I love him in that way but no, he's not my boyfriend. And if he is, he's never treated me like it."

Vincent nodded. Either way, it appeared to him that Tifa was very valuable to Cloud. So why hasn't he made any signs of trying to find her that the crimson-eyed man could see? He had gone to Rocket Town while Tifa was asleep a few times—very quietly, very late at night, in demon form, when everyone was asleep. There wasn't any movement, and it almost seemed, in the eyes of the demon he used, that they weren't doing anything to bother recovering the girl.

Of course, that was probably just his demons playing tricks on him. Vincent was more than sure that was the case. After all, they wouldn't just leave her…would they?

* * *

Cloud absently stared out the window. The sky was completely void of clouds, and the deep, crisp, cerulean color of it almost seemed to shine. He wondered if Tifa was somewhere under the same tranquil sky, whether she could see it. He sighed. People often got the wrong idea about him and Tifa. Did he love her? Yes, he did, very much—but not the type of love that a boyfriend felt for a girlfriend, and not the type that a husband felt for a wife, either. He had to admit: He'd felt that way for her in the past…but not now. Now…he didn't know HOW he felt. But he knew one thing: He cared about her. A lot.

"Cloud," came a gruff voice from the doorway.

"Yeah?" the spiky-haired man sighed, turning to face Red XIII.

"Cid's almost done preparing the airship. I think everyone else is just about ready to leave," the red dog-like creature said.

Cloud nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Red."

Red XII nodded, and glanced down the hallway. "Great," he muttered, spotting Yuffie. She wielded a comb and some hair ties in her hand, and that could only mean one thing: Braids.

"R-Red! Wait up!" Yuffie called, chasing her beloved doggie companion down the hallway.

Cloud rolled his eyes. If only the world could be as carefree as Yuffie…

* * *

Yumesuta: Okay, short chapter, I know…I just felt I had to update it, since I normally update this fic pretty quickly. Anyway, REVIEW PLEASE! 


	5. Realization and Regret

Disclaimer: You know the drill, right?

Note: Yeah, um…I'm updating! Yay! There'll probably be some OOC-ness in this chapter, but the situation going on is so upside-down you'll have to understand, right?

Reviewer Responses (I decided to do this just because…so there! And if you reviewed but you're not on here it's because I uploaded the chapter before you reviewed…sorreh!)

**Nando the RPS King:** Heh, your review made me smile. Thanks!

**BabyGurl:** Oh, I will, don't worry…people will slaughter me if I don't.

**lunament: **Yes, poor Red…and it's ok, don't be sorry! Be HAPPY! Or else! You're one of my most loyal reviewers!

**Crimson Tears:** Thanks! I think I'll make her like that in this chapter and stuff…yeah, your review made me wonder myself why she wasn't very scared. Thanks!

* * *

Chapter 5: Realization and Regret

It wasn't until a few days after the kidnapping happened that Tifa actually, fully realized what was going on. She didn't know when she realized—was it dinnertime, maybe? The site of Vincent actually cooking, and the sound of his voice almost coldly telling her not to go near the door, inspired a growing fear inside of her.

Well, maybe "fear" isn't the right word—she didn't experience fear that day until later. Perhaps the right word for that moment in time is anxiety. She felt anxious—finally, she realized that something wasn't quite right…

She examined Vincent as they ate, vaguely registering that he was a decent cook. She hadn't had spaghetti in a long time and it was a nice change.

_Wait,_ she thought. _I'm commenting how good his cooking is? Why? He kidnapped me._

That's when it hit her: She was a captive. Someone she thought she could trust was her captor. She could no longer trust him…so, how did she know he wouldn't hurt her? The warm pasta suddenly turned cold in her stomach and she stopped eating.

Vincent noticed her sudden change in behavior and had a feeling he knew why. "Are you all right, Tifa? You look pale," he asked quietly.

The dark-haired bartender's mouth opened and closed, and hard as she tried no words could come out. She weakly shook her head "No," hiding her trembling hands from view under the old table.

Vincent said nothing. Chaos and the other demons told him to finish his meal, which he silently did. Once he finished, he stood up. Tifa registered that he'd be taller than she would be, even if she had stood up when he did. The thought made her feel even weaker.

"I will be gone for a couple of hours," the crimson-eyed gunman said, unable to keep the demon-induced iciness out of his voice. The martial artist turned her head slightly towards him, her cinnamon eyes barely focused on him.

"Okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Do _not_ leave the house, Tifa. If you do, be assured that I will find you." Vincent wanted to cringe. The words didn't come out of his mouth willingly—his demons pushed them out.

Tifa's breath became shaky. The realization of what was going on grew stronger by every word her captor said. She nodded in response to what he said.

Vincent, not wanting his demons to talk to his captive any more, briskly paced to the door.

"Quite the ex-Turk, aren't you?" the woman said hotly.

Vincent—rather, Chaos and the rest of the demons—gave the woman a long, hard stare. Tifa stared defiantly back, until the demonic gaze burned her eyes and she had to look away, eyes stinging with tears.

"I'll be back," the ex-Turk reminded the brunette martial artist.

He slammed and locked the door behind him.

Tifa stared at the door for minutes after Vincent left. That's when she completely realized that she wasn't completely safe.

"Well," she reasoned, "I should at least have five good reasons to not trust Vincent before I panic." She desperately wanted to believe that she still thought Vincent was a good man.

"One," she muttered, "he kidnapped me, and the reason wasn't even very good…Two, he's an ex-Turk…Three, he has not one, but four demons in his head and can't always control them. Four, he was involved somehow in the birth of Sephiroth, as far as I know…Five, he has a giant, metal, clawed arm that could easily kill someone if he tried…Six, he's better with a gun than anyone else…oh, crud, that's six!"

That's when the fear came. Panicked, she stood up from her chair with such a force that it fell over, making a soft thud as it hit the carpeted ground. She whirled to the door, banging and pulling on it feverishly, tears streaming rapidly down her cheeks like miniature waterfalls. It was no use. The door was bolted shut, and even when she locked it from the inside, it wouldn't open up—the internal lock was most likely a false lock that didn't actually work. If it weren't a false lock, Vincent wouldn't be able to get inside.

_Vincent, _she thought. _I have a few hours to find a way out of here…_

Tifa scrambled through the tiny house, almost hysterically. There were no windows, no other doors, and despite her careful examination of every nook and cranny, there were no weak spots, no hidden doors.

It was the perfect place to hide a captive that you didn't want to escape.

The brunette shuddered. What sort of hellish deeds went on in this place in the past? She doubted it was a mere Turk hideaway—no, the Turks would certainly have a hideaway more luxurious than this. It sure didn't seem like a place that was open to the public. Perhaps it was just her frantic imagination, but as she examined the walls when she entered the bedroom, was that a _bloodstain?_ She shivered. There was no way she felt comfortable in a building with blood staining the walls of the _bedroom._

She felt so stupid—stupid for falling for Vincent's "Do you want to take a walk?" trick, stupid for not being scared earlier, stupid for being so helpless.

She sat by the door, the terror of it all overwhelming her. She let out a high-pitched scream of fear and aggravation.

* * *

Miles away, Chaos picked up the sound of Tifa's scream and let Vincent hear it. The ebon-haired man shuddered, regret that he had felt before growing larger in his chest than ever.

"I should let her go," he muttered.

Chaos and the other demons mentally turned against him, giving the expert gunman a giant headache. He stopped resisting their will and the headache disappeared.

"_You can't just let her go,"_ Chaos hissed.

"I have to—I can't just let her suffer like this," Vincent reasoned.

"**_NO!"_** the head demon snapped. _"You will do no such thing! If you truly want Cloud to suffer, you will sacrifice Tifa's freedom to do so! If that spiky-haired moron doesn't get the point at first, then Vincent, I will _kill_ that woman you seem to treasure so much."_

"You can't kill Tifa," Vincent breathed. "I promised them that I wouldn't."

"_I will kill Tifa if I have to,"_ Chaos said, his voice full of malice. _"Now, understand: YOU WILL NOT LET HER GO. You will let this kidnapping pull through completely. If Cloud does not understand, then you will kill Tifa."_

Regret and that ever-so familiar feeling of helplessness grew inside Vincent. "No," he said firmly.

Chaos and the other demons teamed up against Vincent's willpower, recreating the massive headache they had given him earlier. _"YOU WILL,"_ they roared together.

"I-I can let the kidnapping pull through, but I will NOT kill Tifa," Vincent said. He rarely cried. But at that time, the tears came.

"_YOU WILL DO AS WE SAY,"_ the demons screamed.

"N-no," Vincent breathed, falling to his knees. Now the headache spread to other parts of his body until he was in so much pain that it interfered with his breathing.

"_You will,"_ Chaos whispered, his voice a deadly calm.

"I-I…have…no…choice," Vincent mouthed. He had no air left to create a voice, and therefore no voice to create his words. The demons took the pain away, releasing his lungs. The red-eyed man gasped in several raspy breaths, coughing up blood. Though the pain the demons had given him in order to make him give in to their will was gone, the pain from the fact that they would probably make him kill Tifa was even greater in his chest.

If he killed Tifa, he could never forgive himself.

* * *

Yumesuta: The chapter leapt from my fingers! I didn't plan any of this, I swear! PLEASE review and tell me what you think of this twist. 


	6. Things We Can't Do

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, its characters, its concepts, or its plot. I don't own any of its places or its Planet, either. Neither do I own any of the monsters, Chocobos, Cetra, rejects of scientific experiments, or the Highwind. In fact, I own nothing in Final Fantasy VII except for the mystery house Tifa's being held captive in.

Note: Aww…I swear, if I could reach out and give my reviewers a cool gift, I honestly would! You all are great!

Second Note: Possible OOC-ness ahead, but as this isn't a humor story, I try to keep the characters as in character as possible. If I slide and go OOC, I'm sorreh.

* * *

Chapter 6: Things We Can't Do

Tifa was asleep when he got back.

Vincent would have smiled if he hadn't had that conversation with Chaos and the other demons. The thought of possibly having to kill her made him feel…well, he didn't know HOW it made him feel. The feeling was beyond sadness, beyond aggravation, beyond regret.

There was another flicker of a feeling there, too, one he had only previously felt when he saw Lucretia in those times so long ago. Yes, it was true: He regretted ever feeling like that now, and strangely enough, he never wanted to feel it ever again. He knew, firsthand, that love was a feeling that, if handled the wrong way, could hurt very much.

No, his love for Tifa wasn't anything strong or anything sudden. Perhaps love was too strong of a word. Perhaps he merely favored Tifa above the others—and why not? She was strong, both emotionally and physically—but not to the point where she showed off or never displayed her feelings. She was also loyal to her friends, and appeared not to completely hate them even after they turned on her.

He didn't register how beautiful she was, and, unlike most other men, he didn't register her breast size. He wasn't the type to really notice these things.

That thought comforted his emotions slightly. If he didn't think she was beautiful, then surely he didn't love her…? He couldn't, really. Why couldn't he?

"I just can't," Vincent breathed.

He walked back to the bedroom and wondered why his captive chose to sleep on the raggedy old couch instead of the bed. She was perfectly welcome to; Vincent tended to not sleep much. Decades of sleeping in a coffin did that to you. Then his crimson eyes wandered over to the bloodstain on the wall. Was that what she was afraid of? Was she afraid that the blood was that of a previous captive, one who had been less fortunate and less welcome than she was?

That blood was Chaos's fault. The purple demon had done a forceful, temporary separation from his host. That means, the shadow of the demon had ripped itself out of Vincent's body via one of the many scars on the man's chest—and just that alone had caused sufficient blood splatter to frighten anyone who wasn't in a position of power within the tiny building. The shadow re-entering Vincent had caused even more blood splatter.

"I don't want to think about that," the red-and-black-clad man whispered. Just those vague details of the torment he had to endure over and over again were enough—he didn't want to go into full detail.

* * *

"He actually thought I was sleeping," Tifa muttered triumphantly to herself as she sat up. The couch made an ominous-sounding creak under her as she shifted positions. Then she noticed that the door to the bedroom was open. The bedroom door was located in a spot which made it so that the couch was the first thing you'd see when you opened it…and right by the inside of the aforementioneddoorway was Vincent. He seemed so lost in thought, though, that if he noticed her being awake, he gave no sign.

At first, Tifa was smiling, but then the smile faded into a confused frown. She used to trust Vincent so much. Also, she had to admit, after meeting him, since she didn't want to start a romantic relationship with Cloud, Vincent was at the top of her list for possible boyfriends. And why not? First of all, he was cute. Second, he seemed nice (until he kidnapped her). Third, he just seemed like the type of person who—though cold, quiet, and seemingly antisocial—just needed someone to open him up.

Not any more, though. Would _you_ still be willing to love the person who kidnapped you for a reason you don't know very clearly and/or don't like? Besides, her feelings for him were never very strong. It was just one of those feelings that kids get when they're in elementary school or middle school, where they think a person's attractive and latch onto them for that reason. Of course, Tifa was mature enough to have more reasons than just _that_ to like Vincent.

After he kidnapped her, though, they basically went away.

"I can't love you, Vincent," she sighed. "Personally, I don't want to."

That said, the fatigue that comes from pretending to be fatigued set upon her, and she slid from sitting up straight to lying on her side on that raggedy, beat-up old brown couch and fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

"What the hell is TAKING you all so long?" Cloud snapped. They had been "ready" to leave for at least a day, and yet no progress so far had been made.

Cid's head appeared from the Highwind as he finished tuning up the engine. "Hold yer $#?& horses!" the blonde old pilot snapped back.

"I DON'T HAVE ANY HORSES TO HOLD!" the spiky-haired leader hollered back, stomping back into the Rocket Town inn, grumbling something that delicate ears shouldn't hear.

"You know," Yuffie whispered to Barret, for the mere reason that he had been standing near her and Vincent, her usual target for annoyance, wasn't there, "if it weren't for the fact that he were a man, I'd say he was on PMS."

"Heh," Barret chortled. "Yeah. But if yer lifelong friend wasn't there, I'm sure yeh'd be confused n' angry as well."

"Probably, but since when do you understand Cloud so well?" asked Yuffie suspiciously, edging away from the dark-skinned man. However, further remarks were put on hold because the dark-haired ninja caught side if Red XIII and, grinning maliciously, chased after the yelping dog-creature with her malicious comb and hair ties.

They ran into the hotel and bumped into an unfortunate Cait Sith, who, because his natural clumsiness mixed with being bumped into wasn't a good mix, bumped into Cloud.

The spiky-haired leader turned his head and glared at the stuffed creature. "Watch it," he grumbled, and attempted to resume storming off.

"Hey, Cloud, other than the obvious, what's wrong?" asked the stuffed creature, attempting to be cheerful.

"The obvious," Cloud snapped, "is basically it. Do I NEED to tell everyone everything?"

"It can be helpful," Cait Sith said.

"WE NEED TO HAVE LEFT ALREADY! Who knows what could happen to Tifa if we take our precious time?"

"Well, we could hurry in like fools and put the girl in even more danger…"

"I just don't want to take this much damn time just getting ready to leave," Cloud sighed, plopping into one of the plush chairs in the inn-turned-hotel's lobby. "Taking time just doesn't seem like a smart thing to do."

Red XIII appeared in the hallway and entered the lobby, growling since he was now mostly braided and being followed by a braid-obsessed teenager. "We have to take time," the dog-creature growled, sitting down (which, to Yuffie, signified defeat, causing her to squeal with glee and attack his mane further with the comb).

"Hey, look at that," Cait Sith observed. "When she's braiding hair, she's calm. Cloud, maybe you should try something like that."

"…You want me to braid Red's hair?" the blonde leader asked, raising one eyebrow.

Red XIII yelped. "I don't even want ONE hairstylist! Two would be way too much!"

"No, I mean, try to find something that calms you down," the stuffed creature explained.

Cloud shook his head. "Talking to Aeris calmed me down. Talking to Tifa calmed me down. Talking to you all, well, that doesn't work."

"DONE WITH THE DAMN REPAIRS," Cid bellowed, sticking his head in through the doorway.

Cloud's face lit up like an excited child for a moment, then he regained his leader-like aura. "Right. Everyone, let's go."

* * *

Yumesuta: I hope that chapter was okay. Please review. By the way, I wonder if any of you have any idea how old I am…? Just out of curiosity. ANYWAY. REVIEW! 


	7. Coffee

Disclaimer: As I said before, I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

Note: …I'm not getting very many reviews. Please review. I don't want to think people don't like it because if not many people review, I'll take the story down.

Second Note: I think I'll add some fluff in the next chapter or so. I don't want to move them along too fast, though—their situation's confusing, you know?

* * *

Chapter 7: Coffee

Tifa was alarmed to find herself in the bedroom when she woke up. For once, it wasn't the bloodstains that worried her—it was the fact that she was in what was, as far as she knew, Vincent's bed with no clue of how she got there. Fear caused her heart to beat faster than it would beat when the final fight with Sephiroth came.

Her brain screamed a million commands at her at the same time, and she threw the covers off of herself, then stood up shakily, examining herself in the full-length mirror next to the closed door. Her clothes didn't appear to have been adjusted at all, despite the fact that they were becoming somewhat wrinkled from multiple days of being worn. She sat on the edge of the bed and squeezed her legs together and, making sure the door was all the way closed, opened them as wide as they would go with a skirt. She didn't feel funny; she wasn't in any pain.

If Vincent had done anything to her, he'd disguised it very well.

"V-Vincent," she stammered, sliding out of the bedroom. "Be honest with me…why was I—"

He raised his natural hand slightly to silence her. "I know what you are thinking, and I assure you that you remain 'untouched' by me. You did not look very comfortable on the couch, so I moved you to the bed," he explained, lowering his hand to pour himself a cup of coffee.

Tifa shook her head, her cinnamon eyes fixed in a slight, though still fierce, glare. "Why should I believe you?" she demanded, gloved fists clenched.

"I promise you, I'm telling you the truth. I am fully aware of the fact that you do not trust me; that is not something that can be helped. If you do not believe me, then I apologize, but there is nothing that I can to do make you believe me," the crimson-eyed man replied calmly (though pretty much everything he said was calm).

Tifa just shook her head, but she knew he wasn't lying. After all, he was putting a lot at risk by just kidnapping her—Cloud would most likely let him live after finding Tifa unharmed. But if Vincent were to go as far as to _rape _her, then, well, let's just say that when there's a six-on-one battle, the six (Cloud, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Tifa) are most likely going to win and leave a very dead opponent (Vincent) behind after the fight.

"Coffee?" Vincent asked, breaking Tifa away from her thoughts.

"…Um, okay," the brunette shrugged, taking the mug of steaming hot liquid. It was just what she needed; the rough texture of the plain white mug and the steaming, bitter taste of the coffee were very real, something that she was sure existed compared to the seemingly unreal events of the past few days.

The reality of the coffee, strange as it may seem, also woke up the part of her that wished this were all a dream. Deep down, she still wanted to trust Vincent. Somewhere in her mind, she wanted to believe that this wasn't happening…but it was. The tears that she wanted to suppress silently fell down her cheeks. She trained her cup and handed it back to Vincent, wiping her eyes with her arm.

"Are you okay?" Vincent asked gently.

Tifa shrugged. "I don't know. Are you?"

"For the most part, yes, I am. Don't cry, Tifa. I have no intentions of hurting you," the red-eyed man said quietly. "If I do, please be aware that I am not myself and that Chaos or one of the other demons is controlling me at that time."

Tifa smiled a very small smile, and said nothing.

* * *

The Highwind was in much better shape, the sun shone brightly in the control room (as well as the rest of the ship), and there were now eight bedrooms, one for each team member (including Aeris, despite all logic).

All in all, the ship was in better shape after Cid was done with repairs.

…Of course, when a certain dark-haired ninja wouldn't leave you alone, you tended not to notice improvements, especially when you were a certain spiky-haired leader.

"Okay," Cloud grumbled, attempting to be calm as he glared at Red XIII. "Who gave her coffee?"

"FWEE!" answered Yuffie, jumping around behind Cloud.

"…I don't know," said the dog-like creature, backing away from the super hyper ninja.

Once again, Yuffie shrieked "Fwee!" and jumped on Cloud from behind so that she was now pretty much riding him piggyback.

"FOR THE LOVE OF—!" the blonde young man roared, attempting to pry the Materia thief's arms off of his neck. She wasn't choking him, but when you're already in a bad mood, having a young ninja leap on you really didn't help at all.

An insane grin spread on Yuffie's face and she refused to move.

"Why me?" Cloud whined.

"Well, usually," Red XIII started, "she bugs Vincent but as he's not here right now…" He stopped at the look that appeared on Cloud's face after mentioning Vincent.

"Only bad things come from him being gone, eh?" the spiky-haired man growled.

"…Cloud…in the note, he said he wouldn't kill Tifa," Red XIII said, trying to make a reason to calm his leader down.

"Yeah, but he also said he couldn't promise he wouldn't hurt her." When Yuffie's arms tightened around him, he remembered her presence. "By the way...WHO GAVE HER COFFEE?" he demanded.

Yuffie giggled. "I got it myself!"

* * *

Yumesuta: …Yeah, um, REVIEW! Please…? 


	8. Moonlit Emotions

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII belongs to Squaresoft/SquareEnix, not me.

Note: Fluff in this chapter. Also, all of you people who review my story rock so much! I luv y'alls!

Second Note: _Text like this is someone thinking. "Slanted text in quotation marks is Chaos or one of the other demons talking to Vincent."_

* * *

Moonlit Emotions

Tifa attempted to rub the exhaustion out of her eyes with no prevail as she sat on the raggedy old couch. Though she couldn't see it, she could hear the heavy rain outside and it was making her tired and nostalgic. It was just the little things, like the rain, that made her hate being a captive.

Vincent had left the small building some time ago. She wasn't sure where he went—he never said where he was going, he just said that he'd be gone for a while and leave. She wasn't very comfortable around him any more, and though it was already quiet when he was around, it was unbearably silent without him.

She leaned her head against the arm of the couch and stretched onto her side, yawning. The urge to fall asleep and the urge to force her way out of the heavily barricaded door battled each other in her mind. Sleep was winning, and she was almost in its welcoming embrace when the door was flung open.

Tifa sat up, alarmed, then realized it was just Vincent. _Of course,_ she thought bitterly. _Who else would it be?_

The red-eyed man was soaking wet and there was a white plastic bag in his natural hand. He set it on the table in front of the couch, then slammed the door shut and locked it with its heavy locks, pocketing the key.

"I bought you some stuff," he muttered, sliding the bag closer to his fatigued captive.

Tifa eyed him in mock suspicion before tugging the moist plastic bag onto her lap. She opened it and pulled out a white shirt with long sleeves, jeans, a comb, a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, the stuff females wear under their outfit, and a bar of soap. The clothes, along with everything else, were a bit damp in spots from the rain, but that didn't matter to her.

"What's all this for?" she asked, a bit surprised.

Vincent shrugged, brushing his dark, wet hair out of his eyes with his natural hand. "I just thought you might like to freshen up a bit—you haven't done that for a few days because of me, and I felt guilty because this is my house and therefore I've been able to do all of those things."

Tifa blinked. "You've changed clothes?" she asked.

"I purchase multiples of the same item," the ex-Turk shrugged.

"I'm gonna go take a shower, then," she said gratefully.

The bathroom was small, but she'd already known that—you don't exactly spend a week without having to use the bathroom. It seemed smaller somehow with her stuff. She hung her new outfit on a rack next to the towels, and set her toothbrush, toothpaste, and comb on the counter next to the sink. She locked the door and stuffed a tissue in the keyhole, though she doubted Vincent would watch her take a shower. It was just something she did out of habit, being one of two girls in a mostly male group.

She adjusted the water until it suited her, then hastily slid out of her clothes and into the shower. Despite how good the warm water felt against her skin, she made it a quick shower, dried off, and slid into her new outfit.

It fit relatively well. The shirt and pants were a size too big for her, but that was okay because that meant her legs would have more flexibility when she had to kick someone in the head. She ran the comb hastily through her hair, brushed her teeth, scooped her old clothes into the bag to be washed later, and was done.

"Finished," she yawned after exiting the bathroom.

Vincent nodded. "Okay. You look tired…go ahead and go to sleep. I'm going to take a shower," he said.

"Okay," Tifa muttered sleepily.

She fell onto the couch and was asleep almost instantly.

* * *

"I wonder how Tifa's doing," Cloud sighed. He had given up on trying to repel Yuffie, to everyone else's amusement—she was now trying to braid his spike, and to her frustration the strands of hair refused to break apart.

"YOU USE TOO MUCH HAIR GEL," she shrieked, moving on to other parts of his head to braid.

"Believe it or not, this is exactly why," he muttered.

"Yo, Spike," Barret barked, stomping into the room.

"…What?" Cloud asked.

"Okay. So we searched allover the damn Planet and found NUTHIN'! What else are we s'posed to do?"

"Keep going," the blonde leader growled.

"Where else is left to search, though? Damn, Cloud, I'm worried 'bout Tifa, too, but we looked everywhere!"

"So look again," Cloud snapped.

Yuffie stared out the window of Cloud's room, pondering why she was bothering her leader. It was fun…that was for sure…As she stared, she saw Meteor in the night sky. It was getting closer by the second.

"Uh, I don't mean to be the evil brat or anything, but we either find Tifa soon or fight without her. Meteor's getting kinda close," she said nervously.

Barret nodded. "Hate to admit it, but the thief's right, Cloud. If we don't find Tifa in a few days, we'll jes' have to fight wi'out her…"

Cloud's blue-green eyes hardened and he reluctantly nodded, but only to get his teammates out of his room. When they were gone, he shut the door. "I'm not fighting without her," he breathed. "She'd never forgive me…"

* * *

The ghost of a smile appeared on Vincent's face when he exited the bathroom. Tifa was sleeping on the couch, as usual. He tenderly scooped her into his arms, gently carrying her to the bedroom—she'd be more comfortable there.

The cinnamon-eyed girl woke up slightly, but the ex-Turk didn't notice. Tifa smiled inwardly and kept her eyes closed. He still smelled of soap. He gently set her on the bed. Tifa woke up then and opened her eyes, but his back was turned and he was out of the room before she could say anything. She sighed.

The places on her body that had been touched by Vincent tingled somewhat, as though they didn't want to be pulled away. Before she could be angry at herself for feeling that, sleep reclaimed her.

* * *

Vincent's face was void of emotion as he concentrated on the sun rising in the horizon. The cold air pressed against his skin, the quiet breeze ruffling his hair, but he paid no attention. The wind picked up and his ragged red cape rippled slightly behind him. No matter how hard the wind blew, it might as well not be blowing at all.

There was no sign of the Highwind.

"_It's getting farther away,"_ Chaos hissed. _"If they don't come soon, then they will leave Tifa behind and fight anyway. Hellmasker saw their conversation saying that in a vision."_

"I'm not going to kill her, Chaos," Vincent said, quiet but firm. "It really does not matter what you insist. I've resisted your will before, and I can resist it again."

"_You've resisted me alone. You've never resisted the four of us against you before,"_ the lead demon taunted.

"You've never all gone against me at once before, though. How do you know it's possible? I've been resisting you for thirty years—_thirty years,_ Chaos—it will be no different when you attempt to carry out your pathetic scheme," breathed the red-eyed man confidently.

He almost regretted what he had said when a massive headache swelled as all four of the demons went against him. Vincent cried out once in pain, falling forward. He thrust out his claw to break his fall. Though the pain resided within seconds, he felt weakened slightly.

"_That was our weak attempt to subdue you, human. Imagine the pain that you will experience if you resist all four of us going against you at our strongest…the girl is as good as dead," _Chaos sneered.

The sun had risen then. Vincent stood up and looked at his surroundings. He looked once more into the horizon from the spot he was standing at in the Nibelheim Mountains and walked slowly back to his home. It was well hidden amongst the rocks. He'd had to build it in his young days as a Turk, as a second, well-hidden home was necessary because of the unpopularity of the Shinra.

Summary: Nice little shack, very well-hidden in the Nibelheim Mountains…how the heck it got running water is unknown, but it had it, so hey.

He unlocked the door. Tifa was awake, but he wasn't surprised.

"Where do you go out to so much?" she asked, running her comb through her sleep-mussed hair.

"…You haven't been outside in a while. Would you like to come train? That way, you'll be ready for the fight against Sephiroth," he muttered, not answering her question. _And maybe, you'll be able to defend yourself against Chaos,_ he added silently and bitterly.

Tifa's eyes widened in surprise and delight. "Are you serious?" she asked.

Vincent nodded. "This is not an opportunity for you to escape, however," Chaos made him add. "If you get any farther than thirty feet away from me, I will chase you down and it will not be a pleasant reunion…" Chaos released his voice and Vincent cringed, realizing what he said. "I won't hurt you, though. I promise."

The red-eyed man resisted the urge to smile. Tifa was already adjusting her fighting gloves.

"Ready," she announced cheerfully.

* * *

She wasn't too rusty at fighting, Vincent observed. They hadn't gone very far away from Vincent's home, and were still on the mountain. The sun had fallen before the woman finally collapsed, exhausted.

"I think I'm done," she gasped as Vincent bandaged the few wounds she had managed to get. One on her arm was particularly nasty, as it was very deep—the red-eyed man could see her bone—but she was strong and didn't cry out or cringe when he put the medicine on and bandaged it.

"So, you are ready to return?" he asked quietly.

Tifa shook her head. "Can we just sit here for a little bit?" she asked pleadingly. "I can barely feel my legs."

The ghost of an amused smile flashed across Vincent's lips. He sat down beside her.

"Cold?" he asked.

Tifa hesitantly nodded. "A bit," she murmured. It _was_ a cold night…

Vincent moved as close as he could get to her and wrapped his cape around her shoulders. It was still attached to him, though, so she had to lean at an awkward angle to let it cover her. Heart pounding, she stood up slightly and sat back down—on his lap.

Vincent's heartbeat quickened slightly as well as he wrapped the warm, though tattered, cape around her torso.

"This is okay, right?" he whispered, slightly confused.

Tifa nodded, just as confused as he was. "Yeah," she whispered back, pushing herself backwards into his warmth. She realized that she was getting close to the man who had captured her—technically, the man who should be her enemy—but she couldn't find a reason strong enough to stop herself.

The only noise that filled the awkward silence between the two was the serenade of the crickets. Finally, Tifa stood up.

"I think I'm ready to go back, now," she said softly.

Vincent nodded and stood up as well.

They quietly walked back to the house, Tifa stood beside the door, waiting for Vincent to unlock it. He pulled the key out of his pocket, then hesitated, looking at Tifa.

"…Yes?" she said nervously.

"I think…" He sighed and slid the key back into his pocket, without first unlocking the door.

"You think what?" she murmured.

Vincent shook his head. "There's something that I feel I have to know…"

Tifa nodded. "Okay," she whispered. The crescent moon was luminously hanging in the dark backdrop of a sky, speckled with stars. The lunar light somehow made his skin seem paler.

The red-eyed man turned to face her and outstretched his clawed arm, wrapping it gently but firmly around the brunette woman's waist to pull her closer. Both of their heartbeats were beating faster as Vincent gently took Tifa's chin in his fingers and covered her mouth with his.

Their lips tenderly, shyly, moved over each other's. The dark-haired woman's arms tentatively slid around Vincent's neck, and the man's natural hand slid slowly to her upper back. He then moved his hand up to the back of her head, holding her gently.

How much time had passed before Tifa they pulled away from each other, neither knew. It might have been a few seconds, a few minutes, an hour…all they knew was that the result was what they both dreaded and desired.

They loved each other.

* * *

Yumesuta: So! What do you think of that? It took me DAYS to get this chapter finished. PLEASE review. 


	9. Explaining the Plan

Disclaimer: It's not mine.

Note: Thanks to my wonderful reviewers, as usual! I'm glad you all liked the last chapter. I wasn't sure whether to let them kiss yet or not, but I guess it wasn't a bad thing to do!

* * *

Chapter 9: Explaining the Plan

He knew it. Now, he had to tell her about Chaos's plan. She deserved to know, especially after last night…especially now that they both knew how they felt about each other.

Vincent waited patiently for Tifa to wake up. Finally, the bedroom door opened slightly and she walked out, her wine-colored eyes half-closed with the fatigue that comes with the early morning.

"Good morning, Tifa," the ex-Turk said softly. He'd attempted to make a real breakfast, but he was too nervous and this caused him to burn all of his attempts. So, instead, he'd re-heated the soup they had for dinner last night.

"Hi, Vincent," the woman responded, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face.

"Er…I forgot to make breakfast so it's leftovers of last night, if you're hungry," Vincent muttered awkwardly.

Tifa shrugged and just stood there, not really wanting to sit. "It's ok. I'm not hungry right now."

"Look, um…Tifa…there's something I have to…tell you…"

The wine-eyed girl frowned. He was using his cautious, I-really-don't-want-to-be-the-one-to-tell-you-this tone of voice. "It's not something I want to hear, is it…?" she asked.

Vincent would have bit his lip if he could. "Most likely not…but I believe that you deserve to know. Sit down," he said softly, motioning his metal arm towards the couch.

Tifa paced over to the old piece of furniture and stood in front of it. "I'm only sitting if you sit as well," she said.

The red-eyed man stepped over the small coffee table in front of the couch and sat. Tifa, keeping her word (though it really wouldn't break anyone's heart if she continued standing), sat next to him.

There was a long, awkward silence and the brunette woman noticed that there was a slight warm pressure on her hand. She glanced at it and was very shocked, though happy, to see Vincent's natural hand on hers. She turned her hand so that their palms were touching and laced their fingers together. Their eyes met.

"So what did you want to say?" Tifa whispered. She really didn't want to break the moment, but she promised herself that she'd get the moment back when Vincent was done saying what he had to say.

"…Chaos," he started.

"What about him?"

"First of all, did I ever tell you how exactly that blood got on the wall in the bedroom?" he asked.

Tifa shook her head. She'd even forgotten about it for a time, but now, knowing that it was still there and that she'd slept in that bloodstained room for two nights in a row, it sent shivers down her spine.

"It was Chaos. Not too long ago, after I met you but before I…er…kidnapped you, I was in this house. It is, you know, _my_ house…" There was another awkward silence until Tifa nudged him on.

"And?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, right. Anyway. At that time, Chaos wanted to tell me something but I was ignoring his voice. He is one of the many demons who despise being ignored by someone weaker than them. So, he parted himself from me…it's really not a pleasant thing to describe…but when Chaos, or any of the other demons, part from me, they push themselves out of me and that causes very unpleasant blood splatter, and a scar. That's one of the things I wanted to tell you," he said quickly, not wanting to dwell on that part of the subject for any longer than necessary. Their eyes met again and he was surprised to see that she looked concerned.

"Vincent…" Tifa's voice trailed off. She hoped his scars didn't still hurt him.

"That's not all," he reminded her.

"Oh…right…"

"The second thing I wanted to tell you is that…" He sighed and shook his head, aggravated. How was he supposed to tell her that her death was going to be his fault?

"Go ahead," the wine-eyed girl encouraged him.

"Chaos…well…" He took a deep breath and said quickly: "Chaos wants to kill you."

Vincent glanced at Tifa and regret filled him. Her face had paled immensely and her eyes had widened. He strengthened his hold on her now shaking hand.

"Why…?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Because…he wants me to suffer. When Cloud and the others come to rescue you, Chaos will…but I won't let him…" Vincent mentally narrowed his eyes at the aforementioned purple demon.

"What are you going to do?" Tifa whispered.

"I don't know yet…but I just _refuse_ to let him kill you. I…"

The dark-haired woman smiled slightly. Whether she wanted to or not, she couldn't help but trust Vincent. She didn't know how in the world she could: He kidnapped her, and soon, he was going to kill her. But, she loved him (again, though she didn't exactly want to), and people tended to trust the ones they loved.

"If that stupid demon does anything to hurt you, I promise I won't leave your side, even if Cloud and the others want to leave you behind," Tifa said in a determined tone.

The mere ghost of a smile flashed across the man's face. "I don't suppose I could get you to change your mind and run for your life?"

"Never," she announced, crossing her arms in mock stubbornness.

Vincent would have chuckled, but he had lost the ability to laugh in any form long ago. However, he hadn't lost the ability to kiss, as he had learned last night.

He leaned closer to her and Tifa smiled, sliding her arm around his neck.

"We really shouldn't be doing this," she murmured.

"In all honesty, we shouldn't have met each other, either…but here we are," he replied softly.

The woman nodded. "You're right…"

Vincent covered the woman's mouth with his lips and held her very gently. There were no surprises until the man nudged Tifa's jaw open. Then, the kiss took on a whole new level and they both wished that it was ok to stay like this with each other forever, though they knew it was impossible.

* * *

"So, Cloud," Red said casually, sauntering into the room.

"Yeah, Red?" the spiky-haired leader asked, yawning.

"Erm…this is a weird thing to ask but…can I borrow some of your hair gel?"

There was a long pause before Cloud tossed the bottle at Red. Red, not having opposable thumbs, stared at it, vaguely surprised he hadn't laughed.

"Er…need help getting that stuff in?" the leader asked.

"That might be helpful," the red beast admitted gruffly.

After the hair gel was applied in massive amounts and dried, Cloud finally burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, hilarious…" Red sighed, but had to admit, it probably was very funny.

That's when Yuffie came in. Red and Cloud glanced at each other, because the ninja had a comb in her hand.

"What…?" she squeaked when Red's mane wouldn't budge. "NOOO!" she cried, banging her fist into her head once.

Red and Cloud grinned at each other.

That's when the spiky-haired leader's melancholy mood grew back on him. "I hope Tifa's ok," he sighed. "Vincent better not have touched her…"

"I'm sure he wouldn't dream of it," Red said consolingly.

* * *

Yumesuta: So, yeah, that's chapter 9. Please review! 


	10. Failed Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, or its characters, or its places, or anything like that. However, I DO own Vincent's little shack-house because it wasn't in the game. Feel free to use it for whatever.

Note: I'm getting some pretty weak amounts of reviews, here…come on, people! I don't want to have to discontinue this fic! All I ask is that you take at least ten seconds to tell me how I'm doing!

* * *

Chapter 10: Failed Rescue

Vincent woke up sometime when it was still dark outside. He lacked ownership of any clocks that were visible to him in that room, so he could only make the assumption that it was either late at night or early in the morning. The crickets were still giving their serenade relentlessly, which is how, besides the lack of light, he knew that it wasn't yet day. Though his tiny abode was free of any windows, like any other building, it was darkest at night.

These observations clear, he was about to sit up from his position of lying on the couch when he realized that Tifa was contentedly sleeping on top of him. She was using his chest as a pillow, her hands clutching lightly to the fabric of his shirt, right under where his cape fastened around his neck. There was a tiny smile on her sleeping lips and he realized his arms were around her. He sighed. He didn't want to disturb her, nor did he wish to leave his position. Unfortunately, infested with demons or not, everyone had to go to the bathroom at _some_ point, as he did then…badly.

Groaning on the inside, he very gently removed his arms from around the woman's lower waist and lifted her lightly by the shoulders, just enough for him to slide out from under her. He stood up quietly, holding her, and was surprised that she was still asleep. Tifa remained in that state until he laid her gently back down so that the back of her head was on the arm of the couch. At that point, her eyes opened slightly.

"Where're you going?" Her voice, when she was very tired and just woke up, was a high-pitched, soft mumble, he noticed.

"I just have to go use the bathroom. I'll be right back," he whispered, brushing the back of his natural hand against her cheek.

"'K," the half-awake woman yawned.

Vincent would have smiled, but of course because of his demons that gesture was one he was no longer able to make. If he still had the ability to smile, he definitely would. Removing his hand from her face, he went on his way to the bathroom. Tifa's wine-colored eyes narrowed slightly in protection of her sight when the bright light shone from the tiny bathroom into the living room (or at least, that's what she assumed this room was).

She sat up weakly, leaning against the back of the couch. A small smile spread on her lips as she picked at the loose threads in her sleeve, waiting for Vincent to come back. She smoothed out the sleep-induced ripples in the thighs of her jeans and thought about how respectful the man was when it came to things like kissing.

If she had done that with any other man, surely at least some article of her clothing (other than her boots, which were removed upon entering the building) would have been taken off. He didn't even attempt to adjust her clothes, and he didn't even take off his cape. He didn't even try to slide his hands up her shirt. The only thing that was removed through their little episode was his red headband, which he replaced before they fell asleep.

He had kidnapped her, yes, and that was disrespectful, but when she put that fact aside, he was very respectful to her. If she tensed even in the slightest way, or pushed at him, no matter how gently she did, he'd immediately pull away until she convinced him it was okay to continue. Also, contrary to popular belief, she was still a virgin—in fact, her relationship with Vincent was her first real one. She wasn't a slut, but she knew what she looked like to the general public.

Tifa yawned, grinning. She'd have to tell at least Yuffie that she slept with Vincent and see her reaction—the sleeping part, of course, merely being actual _sleep._ Then her grin disappeared. No matter what she said afterwards, word would travel to Cloud, who would surely murder Vincent, even if she did explain the truth, that it really was only _sleep_ and not _sex._

Cloud…it was true that he was only her best friend and not a boyfriend, but she really missed him. She was slowly adjusting to her situation with Vincent, but still, she'd gotten used to traveling and it seemed strange waking up and not being able to eat breakfast with him and the rest of the team.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, she heard the familiar flushing of a toilet, and a few seconds later Vincent came back out. When he flipped off the light in the bathroom, almost complete darkness swallowed the room and the dark-haired woman noticed that the man's red eyes glowed for a few seconds in the fresh darkness.

Despite the lack of light in the room, Vincent knew his way around perfectly and maneuvered around the coffee table to the couch. "I'm back," he said in a quiet voice.

Tifa smiled. "Welcome back," she murmured.

Vincent gently slid his metal claw around Tifa's upper back and his natural hand under her knees, then picked her up so gently that if it weren't for the warmth of his chest against her body, she would have thought she was floating.

"Hey," she groaned. "I was comfy there."

Vincent had another of his would-be smiling moments. "You'll most likely be more comfortable on the bed," he said. He would have whispered because of the darkness, but no one else was in the building but the two, so he didn't risk waking anyone up.

Tifa frowned, though the gesture was barely audible in the light-free room. "Only if you sleep there, too…"

Vincent would have bitten his lip. "I'm not so sure that would be a good idea," he muttered.

"Why not?" the wine-eyed girl demanded. "You don't want to sleep with me on the bed…you know, the _sleep_ type of sleep, and not that other type of 'sleep'…and yet you let me lay right on top of you on the couch?" Her eyes narrowed. He could tell that she did this because the whites of her eyes shone in the dusky room. "Now, tell me if that makes sense!"

Vincent sighed. She_ did_ have a point. "Fine," he grumbled, giving in.

He maneuvered over the few obstacles, being extra cautious not to bump into anything or stumble, as he didn't want to hurt Tifa. He nudged the partially open bedroom door open with the toe of his boot and turned sideways, entering that way so Tifa wouldn't hit her head or bare feet against the splintery door frame.

It was then that he realized her arms were around his neck.

He peered down at her face. She gazed back at him, smiling serenely.

Vincent continued on his way to the bed and gently lay her town, standing by her side until she was underneath the blankets. He did that because he couldn't really think of what he should do next.

"Vincent," Tifa sighed, "you LIVE here and I'm your captive. Besides you said you'd stay in here for the rest of the night," she reminded him.

"I still don't know if I should," he muttered as he edged to the other side of the bed and sat.

"Oh, come on, Vincent! I seriously doubt you'd rape me. I mean, Chaos is in control of your emotions, right? He obviously doesn't even like me, so relax!" Tifa said firmly.

The red-eyed man raised one eyebrow but finally gave in. He slid into the bed under the darkly colored blankets, making sure there was some space between them. Tifa giggled at his careful shyness and closed the gap between them, sliding one arm over his chest and the other under her own pillow.

"Good night…or, what's left of it," she yawned.

"…Good night," Vincent muttered back.

It wasn't long before both of them fell asleep.

* * *

"Yo, Spike!" Barret bellowed, practically charging down the hallway to the room where Cloud was eating his breakfast.

"What is it?" the blonde-haired leader said in a very tired voice.

"I think we found Tifa!"

The words flew out of his mouth and he didn't even attempt to hide the hopeful tone he never really used.

Immediately, Cloud's tired, grumpy mood evaporated and he was suddenly energetic with a leader-like, though almost childish, attitude. "Really? Where?" he demanded, standing up.

"Th' Nibel Mountains or whatever that place is called," the dark-skinned man called over his shoulder, already on his way to the control room, where the rest of the team was.

Cid was over by one of the panels and motioned for Cloud to come over, and he did. Cait Sith was standing near the window, observing the land below; Red was with Cid and Barret at the main control panel; and Yuffie was rocking happily back and forth on her heels a few feet away from Cait Sith, staring out the large window.

"'K, so, we think Tifa's there, in that (censored) ledge on the mountain," Cid explained gruffly.

"How do you know?" Cloud asked. He didn't really care how they knew as long as they knew.

"Tracked her. We were gonna do that earlier, but the damn system got all messed up," Cid grumbled.

"…Whatever, let's just go!" Cloud commanded. The airship took off, and Yuffie gave a joyful cheer.

* * *

It was light in the building when Tifa woke up. She saw that Vincent was awake as well, but by the look in his eyes she could tell that the only reason he was still in bed was because of her position on him. She blushed deep red. She was on his chest, practically all the way on top of him.

"Good morning," the man said and wished he could smile to show Tifa that she was okay.

"Morning," Tifa yawned, then grinned. "Er…I suppose you make a very nice pillow," she giggled.

Vincent wanted to smile, but, of course, he couldn't. "And you make a very nice blanket," he countered.

Tifa giggled and moved up some so that their heads were level. Vincent sighed. He thought she was beautiful, even when her hair was messed up and tangled from sleep.

The wine-eyed woman thought the same thing about him, if you replace "beautiful" with "handsome," though his hair was barely messed up as he didn't move much in his sleep.

She lowered her head to kiss him for a few seconds, then drew away. "I'm gonna go brush my hair and stuff," she said, smiling as she exited the bedroom.

She quickly brushed her teeth and just finished running her comb through her hair when she heard a familiar sound outside—the loud sound of an airship engine. She frowned. _I must be imagining things,_ she thought sourly, though a flutter of excitement grew in her chest. Yes, she loved Vincent, but she really wanted to go back to the life she had grown used to.

Fear also grew inside her. When Cloud got here, she's be killed by Chaos if Vincent wasn't strong enough to resist his will.

Still, she did want to be found.

The red-eyed man had also heard the sound and was standing near the door, eyes narrowed and focused on it. His aura was different, Tifa noticed, and when he looked at her, the look in his eyes wasn't one he'd give her. She gulped.

Chaos must have taken over.

"…Vincent?" she asked softly.

When the man smirked, she knew she was right when she guessed it was Chaos. "Sorry, little girl, he's not here right now," the demon sneered.

Tifa's wine-colored eyes narrowed into a fierce glare that could have caused even Sephiroth to freeze. However, Sephiroth wasn't a demon and Chaos was. "Where's Vincent?" she snarled.

Chaos-Vincent smirked. "Oh, he's here, and let me tell you, he's very worried about you…what kind of foolish woman would ever take a walk with a man she barely knew in the middle of the night?"

The roaring of the engine grew louder and the dark-haired woman raced towards the door. Chaos grabbed her wrist and yanked so that she fell over.

There was a loud knock on the door shortly after the roaring of the engine ceased.

"Tifa?" a familiar voice called.

The woman's heart raced. "CLOUD!" she shrieked. Her attempt to lunge at the door was shattered by Chaos grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking at it so that she was on her knees. Something cold and solid pressed against the back of her head and she knew very well that it was a gun. She dared not move.

The banging on the door became louder and more urgent after Cloud heard Tifa call for him. She could hear various members of the team calling her name, but she dared not answer. Anything she did to upset Chaos now could, and would, cost her to lose her life.

Chaos watched the door rattle as though he found it amusing. Eventually, he reached out and swiftly unlocked the door, drawing his hand back faster than any human could have done as the door was flung open with great force.

"Tifa," Cloud gasped, his blue-green eyes narrowing at Chaos, whom he thought was Vincent. He eyed the gun pressed against Tifa's head. "You bastard," he snarled, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword.

Chaos chuckled. "Be careful, you fool," he sneered, cocking the gun. "You don't want to do anything that might injure your precious friend, now, would you?"

"Cloud, it's not Vincent," Tifa said, desperate. "It's Chaos, not Vincent…"

The blonde leader nodded to her once, still focusing on the gunman in front of him. "Let Tifa go and tell me exactly what you want," he said coldly.

The demon chuckled again. "I doubt someone with an intelligence level as low as yours would understand, Strife." He aimed the barrel of the gun at Tifa's shoulder.

Red studied the red-eyed man, then Tifa, who kept mouthing, "It's not Vincent, it's not Vincent…" The one-eyed beast understood.

"By calling Cloud unintelligent, are you calling yourself intelligent? Because if that is your goal you are sadly failing," Red snapped gruffly.

Yuffie cheered in agreement. Anything Red thought, she'd think, except for that stealing Materia was a bad thing to do.

Chaos raised one eyebrow. "I believe you've just earned your friend some pain."

He pulled the trigger.

Tifa screamed and clutched her shoulder, blood pouring from the wound as fast as tears fell from her eyes. She clenched her teeth together as hard as she could, trying to avoid Cloud's horrified gaze.

Chaos laughed coldly at all of the team's expressions; even Cid looked shot. Cait Sith held back a screaming Yuffie and Cloud…you can imagine.

"Oh, don't worry," Chaos said, smirking. "This gun doesn't shoot fatal bullets. The bullet will be lodged in her arm until removed, and she'll be in pain for a long time, but will she die from it? Unfortunately, no."

"DAMN YOU!" Barret roared, raising his gun arm. Cid didn't particularly care about Tifa because he didn't know her well, but he definitely didn't like what just happened.

The wine-eyed girl gazed pleadingly into Chaos's heartless eyes. His expression shifted very slightly, and she knew that Vincent was coming back.

"To prevent further injury I suggest you leave now," Vincent said quickly, trying to tell himself that he didn't really do what he just did. "And if any of you even attempt to come closer, I will kill her," he breathed, pulling his Death Penalty off of the table.

Tifa's gaze moved to Cloud. "Cloud," she whispered.

The spiky-haired leader was furious. He'd come _this close_ to saving his best friend, and now, his only choice was to leave her again. Did he want to? Of course not! But he didn't want to risk Tifa's life any more than he had to, so, seething, he reluctantly motioned for the team to go back to the airship.

"Are you KIDDING me?" Yuffie shrieked. "HELLO! WE'RE JUST LEAVING HER?"

"Cloud," Barret grunted, lowering his gun arm. The others couldn't think of anything to say to Cloud's unexpected decision.

"We don't have a choice," he breathed, choking back sobs. After the rest of the team, minus Tifa, was on their way to the Highwind, he gave a steady, cold glare to Vincent.

"You know we'll be back, and next time it won't be an easy defeat," he threatened. He gave Tifa an apologetic look, and the woman nodded, understanding his decision.

"If you have to, fight Sephiroth without me," she said, her voice barely audible as the door closed.

The only noise in the room was Tifa's heavy breathing as she stood up, attempting to suppress the tears that came with the pain. She couldn't clutch her wound—it was in the back of her shoulder and she couldn't reach it. The wound did, however, cause the rest of her arm to throb painfully and rapidly, so she instead clutched her upper arm and turned to Vincent, eternally surprised at what she saw.

He was crying.

"Vincent…?" she murmured.

The man clenched his teeth together and opened his eyes. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "I wasn't strong enough…"

Tifa shook her head and rushed to the bathroom to wash the blood off of her wound.

She didn't really trust him any more.

* * *

Yumesuta: In case you were confused, Chaos and Vincent were the same person in this chapter, it was just who was in control that changed. So…please review! 


	11. Every Wound Takes Time

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII doesn't belong to me, ok?

Note: Gracias to all my reviewers, you guys really rock! I send you all electronic hugs. Here! HUG!

* * *

Chapter 11: All Wounds Take Time

By the time Tifa was done showering, Vincent was already gone. Frowning, but glad to be alone, she ran a comb through her still soaking wet hair with one arm. Her left arm, the one that had been shot in the back of the shoulder, throbbed painfully whenever she tried to move it, so she did everything one-handedly. Her once clean white shirt that Vincent had bought her was now stained red in the back with a small, bullet-sized hole in it. She winced, pushing her injured limb through the sleeve hole with some difficulty, but she managed to get everything on.

No matter what anyone would think, her trust for Vincent was really what hurt the most. He had shot her—but surprisingly, she wasn't mad at him for that. Chaos shot her, really; it wasn't Vincent's fault that he wasn't strong enough to resist the head demon.

What really hurt was that he had sent her friends away while in full control of himself. He _knew_ she wanted to see her friends again, and yet, had he really allowed that to happen? No. She desperately wanted to trust him, to love him, but she just couldn't. He had forced her to stay in this situation because HE wanted to keep her his captive, not because CHAOS made him do that.

Tears of frustration streamed down her cheeks at the thought of the man. Despite her shattered trust, she still loved him, and she didn't want to do that. He hadn't allowed her to regain her freedom. She used to think that she would be able to bear being Vincent's captive forever, but now…

"Stop thinking about him," she hissed at herself.

"I assume you're talking about me?"

The wine-eyed girl whirled around, ignoring a painful throb that the movement had given her. "Oh…h-hi, Vincent, didn't hear you come in," she said, avoiding his gaze as she brushed the sopping wet hair that had plastered to her face when she made the sudden turn.

"Yes, I do tend to be silent sometimes. How is your shoulder doing?" he asked, his voice full of gentle concern.

Tifa scowled and turned away. "Why would _you_ care? You're the one who shot me…"

Though Vincent understood her anger and didn't blame her at all, the words still stung him. "No, Tifa. It was Chaos that shot you. I will forever regret that moment."

She turned to face him, giving him an intense glare. "Do you regret sending away my friends?" she snarled.

Vincent blinked, a hint of a frown hanging on his lips. "That was Chaos," he lied.

"No it wasn't! I saw the look in your eyes—you were in control of yourself then! You'd gone against Chaos's will at that point! Don't lie to me, Vincent! Please, Vincent, just tell me why!" she cried out, her wine eyes perfectly displaying her distress, though she didn't intend for that to happen.

"I…" Vincent sighed and closed his eyes, setting down the plastic bags that he had been carrying. "I honestly don't know, I just…I just did, it just happened."

"No, Vincent," Tifa breathed, hysteria flashing in her eyes. "Getting your hand snagged while picking blackberries _just happens!_ Biting your tongue while eating a particularly chewy stake _just happens!_ But no, Vincent Valentine, purposely sending away your captive's friends when you are in full control of yourself, claim to love her, and know how much she wants to be with her friends again DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN! TELL ME WHY, DAMNIT! TELL ME!"

Vincent was alarmed. "Calm down," he said firmly, gently grabbing her shoulders. "Please, calm down, Tifa…"

"CALM DOWN? HOW CAN I CALM DOWN? I FINALLY THOUGHT I COULD TRUST YOU AND YOU PROVED ME WRONG! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME! YOU SAID YOU'D PROTECT ME FROM CHAOS! YOU WERE SO CAREFUL WITH ME! SO WHY DID YOU HURT ME LIKE THAT?"

The woman was shaking with hysteria, teeth clenched. Vincent could only stare at his captive in shock. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Tifa wrenched herself out of his grip and backed up until her back was against the closed bedroom door. "Like hell you're sorry!" she hissed, and, without the merest hint of a warning, she charged at him, swinging her right fist so that it collided with the side if his head, and then her left. She would have continued if it weren't for the unbearable surge of pain that shot through her arm. As the man staggered backwards, she fell forward to her knees, clutching her arm and grinding her teeth together.

Vincent rubbed his cheeks, then grabbed one of the plastic bags that he had brought with him from his trip to the outside world. "We have to heal that shoulder," he said.

"You're not touching it," she snapped through clenched teeth, standing up.

Vincent nodded curtly and tenderly grabbed her wrist. "You won't be able to reach it to clean it yourself, and I don't want you to lose mobility in your arm, which is what will happen if it goes unhealed," he said gently.

Despite his obviously apologetic nature, Tifa couldn't forgive him. "So what if I have to get my arm amputated?" she growled.

"How much help would a one-armed person be in the fight against Sephiroth?"

Tifa bit her lip, unable to stop him when he slowly led her to the bedroom. He held her good wrist in his natural hand, and dangled the plastic bag on a claw of his golden hand.

"I'm going to have to look at your wound…" he muttered awkwardly.

Tifa groaned, knowing what he meant. "Let me guess. You want me to take off my shirt."

"I promise that the only thing I'll ask to see is your back," he whispered, emptying the plastic bag onto the dark colored quilt of the bed.

Tifa sat on the edge of the bed and examined the healing items. "There's no Materia there," she observed.

"For the type of bullets Chaos used, Materia would only make the injury worse," the red-eyed man explained. "Now, I have to see where you were hurt."

Tifa sighed, tears pricking at her eyes. _At least I'm wearing a bra underneath,_ she thought bitterly, removing the stained white shirt with some difficulty.

Vincent gathered the ends of her hair together and twisted it, gently clipping it to the back of her still-wet head so that none of the wet strands were plastered to her back. That way, her hair was out of the way.

"Hrm," he breathed, tracing the outline of the injury with the index finger of his natural hand. "It's in a place where I can't cover it with a wrap-around bandage so we'll have to use the sticky kind," he informed her.

"Whatever," she murmured.

"I'll also have to clean it first."

"Knock yourself out."

"This will sting a bit."

"Whoopee," Tifa snapped sarcastically. "Don't give me a play-by-play! If you really want to help my shoulder heal, just do it already!"

Vincent nodded, and, not wasting any more time, he grabbed a handful of cotton balls and other things he'd need to use to clean the wound.

"…The bullet's still in there," he said, clenching his teeth together.

"So?"

"Without the right tools, this is going to be excruciating…"

Tifa straightened her back and said bravely, "I don't care."

Vincent felt proud of Tifa, even though he knew she was only being brave to spite him. "Here it goes," he muttered, sticking the index finger and thumb of his natural hand gently into the wound.

Tifa, though, didn't consider this "gentle" at all. His fingers caused her injury to sting and throb even worse than it had before. "STOP!" she shrieked, wrenching away from him.

"Tifa, it has to be done," Vincent said, yelling over her screaming.

To stop her flailing arms from hitting him, he firmly wrapped his metal arm around her waist from behind, pinning both of her arms to her side in the process.

"LET GO OF ME!" she screamed. "YOU AREN'T HELPING, THIS ISN'T HELPING, LET ME GO!"

Vincent knew that even if he DID try to calm her down, the attempt wouldn't work at all, so he clenched his teeth together and pressed his fingers into the wound again, trying to reach the bullet. Tifa's screams became louder and he felt regret from hurting her so badly swell inside of him, but it had to be done or else her arm would slowly become useless. Finally, he swiftly withdrew his fingers, the bullet tightly grasped in his hand.

"Done," he panted.

Tifa's screams were reduced to slightly muffled sobs. "O-ok," she breathed, relaxing slightly.

Vincent yanked a tissue out of the tissue box he'd bought and hastily dropped the bullet onto it, then did his work with a Band-Aid and some disinfectants. Though the disinfectants caused her injury to give occasional painful throb, it wasn't as bad as when her captor's fingers were buried in the bullet hole.

"Finished," the red-eyed man finally said after carefully applying the Band-Aid.

"Ok," the dark-haired woman said, hastily replacing her shirt.

"Oh, and I got you another shirt," said Vincent. "Be right back."

Tifa bit her lip and stared at the floor. There he was, being thoughtful again while she was trying to be mad at him.

He reappeared in the room a few seconds later with a second plastic bag and handed it to her. "Go ahead and look," he urged her.

Tifa emptied the bag onto her lap. Not only was there one long-sleeved, midnight blue sweater but also two short-sleeved wine-colored T-shirts, a dark brown jacket, a couple of unmentionable clothing items, and a couple of assorted female-only items that she was going to need but wouldn't typically find in a male-only house.

She smiled briefly, still unable to face his gaze. "That was nice of you," she said quietly.

"I know what I did, and I know it was wrong…but…I still don't want you to be unhappy," the ex-Turk said awkwardly. He watched her yawn. "You should get some rest," he observed.

"Okay, but first I'm changing my shirt," she said, submitting to his suggestion for rest for once.

She was wearing one of the wine-colored shirts when she came back out of the bathroom. It matched her eyes perfectly.

_Beautiful,_ Vincent thought, even though the outfit wasn't fancy at all.

"Vincent…"

"Yes?"

"…Thanks. I mean…you really didn't have to buy me new clothes and all that stuff…thanks for doing it anyway. But…it'll take a while before I can trust you again, ok? I really, really wish I could love you and trust you again, but…it'll take some time," the woman whispered.

Vincent nodded. "I know, and I'm not expecting you to rapidly change your mind and fall into my arms. However long it takes, I'll wait for you."

The dark-haired woman climbed into the bed as her captor swept the trash off of the quilt and neatly stacked her belongings next to the bed. She sighed.

Why was it that whenever she didn't want to trust him, it always came bubbling back? _I won't give in so easily this time,_ she told herself, silent but firm.

* * *

Yumesuta: Well, that's that chapter! Please review! 


	12. Questions and Confessions

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII isn't mine.

Note: Thanks to all of my reviewers!

Second Note: In a review, critiques are more than welcome, but don't center the whole review around one thing, please tell me how I'm doing in every part of my fic!

* * *

Chapter 12: Questions and Confessions

Tifa woke up with her shoulder feeling much better. It still ached a bit, but not nearly as much as it did before. She sighed, a tiny smile spread across her tired lips as she crawled out of the comfort of bed. _I suppose I should thank Vincent,_ she thought. She still didn't trust him—at least, not nearly as much as she did.

But, he DID clean and bandage her shoulder. He even bought her new clothes, her own toiletries, and even tampons. If he didn't want to take care of her, if he wanted her to be hurt, if he wanted her to be miserable, would he have done those things? No. The woman may have been angry, but she was able to forgive her captor—at least, to a certain degree. Maybe these items he purchased for her were merely things to buy back her trust, but she doubted it. Not even a diamond ring could buy her trust, so a few common items would earn her thanks but not her trust.

At first, Tifa wanted to think of how to thank Vincent. However, she decided against the idea—words that sound just fine when you imagine saying them in your head almost never come out right when you say them out loud. So, she'd just have to let the words come to her.

She'd already thanked him last night, yes, but she also wanted to apologize for acting so rudely towards him, and thank him again. He didn't seem to purposely hurt her, and yet, she had screamed at him as though he was trying to rape her. He wasn't; she knew that.

The plastic bag crinkled as she slid her hand into it to grab some of her stuff and change clothes. The outfit she was wearing was clean, yes, but Vincent had slid the belongings that weren't in the bag into the bag while she was asleep—or, when he thought she was asleep. He'd quietly crept into the room and though she'd woken up and opened her eyes, he seemed not to notice as she watched her move her things. Tifa thought vaguely that it was sort of a nice thing to do. Now all of her belongings were in one place.

She grabbed her comb and ran it through her hair slowly, but not to be gentle with her hair. She experimented with how her shoulder felt when she moved her injured arm. As she expected, it was a pain, but before Vincent had healed her, as she'd thought before, it had hurt even more.

Dropping the comb back into the bag, she hastily yanked the sheets so that they were neater than they were when she'd gotten out of bed. Her heart rate increased, as she became a bit nervous. _Why am I suddenly so nervous?_ she asked herself. _I've been able to talk to Vincent without being nervous before…_

The door creaked softly as she pushed it open, sliding into the living room. Vincent was standing near the sofa, leaning his back against the wall, arms crossed, head tilted forward slightly. He seemed to be brooding.

"Um…Vincent?" she said quietly.

At first, Tifa thought the red-eyed man hadn't heard her. Then he blinked once, lifted his head, and then turned to look at her, standing as he normally did.

"Yes, Tifa?"

"…About last night, when I was screaming at you, uh…I'm…well, I'm sorry," she muttered, her gaze shyly focused on his face. "And…thanks again for doing all the stuff you've done for me. I mean, you didn't have to buy me all that stuff so…thanks…and sorry."

Vincent nodded curtly, returning her gaze. "Apology accepted. Actually, you did not need to apologize. It was not your fault that you were angry. I wasn't using my best judgement when I performed the action that angered you so much. And as for purchasing necessities for you, it was the very least I could do. I do not enjoy thinking about you as a captive. I consider you a friend. Also, as I did not allow you to prepare yourself for being away from what you consider home for a long period of time, you would not have had these things anyway," he explained in his usual tone of voice.

Tifa smiled. "Vincent, you're so formal," she sighed.

The man shrugged. "Oh…and one more thing. You may not like this…"

Tifa's smile disappeared. "Say it," she muttered.

"As your rescuers now know your location…as much as I wish we could stay here, we cannot do that…"

The woman closed her cinnamon-colored eyes in aggravation, groaning. "Where are we going?" she demanded.

The ex-Turk shook his head. "I do not know."

The woman sighed. "Can I take a shower and stuff before we leave? And do you have a spare bag, one that's not plastic, that I could use to travel? That flimsy plastic's not gonna be good for traveling."

Vincent nodded. "Yes, and yes. Just so you know, I bought you a spare pair of jeans for the journey, and washed your first outfit. I also repaired the sweater that had been stained and torn when you were shot. As for medicinal items, I have plenty so we will have to share those."

Tifa nodded, though not happy with the idea of having to leave. She'd just gotten comfortable with this place… "So, since you washed my clothes I suppose I'm wearing this when we leave?" she asked, pointing to the wine-colored T-shirt and jeans she had on.

Vincent nodded. "If you don't mind. I would allow you to change but there is obviously a lack of washing machines outside of towns. Oh, and in case you want to put your hair up or something, here." He grabbed a small packet of hair ties off the table in front of the couch. "I bought these while you were asleep, in case you were wondering…because no, I do not wear my hair up."

Tifa suppressed a giggle and took the packet of hair ties. "Thanks," she said.

"I'll find a spare bag while you're in the shower."

"Okay."

The dark-haired woman quickly grabbed soap and shampoo from the bedroom and slipped into the bathroom to take her shower.

Vincent sighed as she closed the bathroom door behind her. Whether or not she trusted him, he couldn't deny the fact that he, well, loved her.

* * *

Several minutes later, Tifa emerged from the bathroom, her dark hair gathered in a ponytail. Vincent walked over, handing her a relatively small brown bag with a black strap she could sling around her shoulder. Inwardly, he bit his lip. He could still smell the soap on her.

"Thanks," she sighed, taking the bag. It was barely big enough for all of her possessions. To make room, she tied the sleeves of her jacket around her waist. "So, are we leaving now?"

The ex-Turk nodded. "Yes. Since we'll be walking, I found a spare water bottle for you and filled it up. Don't worry, I washed it," he said, handing it to her.

There was a small pouch on the side of her new bag that she could slide the bottle into. Then she raised her eyebrows. "Hey, Vincent, how do you get the gil to buy all this stuff?"

"I get gil from battling the monsters. Don't we all?"

"I suppose that's true…"

"Well, grab your gloves and we can leave."

Tifa slid her hands into her fighting gloves and made sure her boots were tight before she came back up next to Vincent. "Lead the way," she said quietly.

The breeze felt good on her skin after days of not being outside—not truly outside in the sunlight, able to walk around as she pleased. She smiled, content with her temporary almost-freedom.

"So, Vincent," she said after a while, tired of their awkward silence. "Tell me something about yourself."

"…What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, tell me something about yourself that I don't already know." She sighed. "I'm just bored and tired of the silence, ok?"

Vincent shrugged. "So you still want me to tell you something?"

"Why not? If I'm gonna be stuck with you, I might as well know something about you that I didn't know before."

As they kept walking, the red-eyed man tried to think of something. "Does it matter what?" he asked.

"No, as long as I didn't know it before."

"This…may be a stupid one, but I'm more of a cat person than a dog person."

"Really? Aww," Tifa squealed. "So you like cats?"

"Why not? They're independent. They don't need to depend on anyone else. They can take care of themselves, and no matter how lazy they are one minute, they can be as energetic as they need to be the next. They have their own opinions and don't like letting one person control their life…a little bit like you," he explained.

"Aww," she said, smiling.

"So, why don't you tell me something I didn't know about you?" Vincent suggested. "It'd only be fair."

"Um…you know, I can't think of anything all symbolic like that," she sighed, shaking her head.

"It doesn't have to be symbolic, as long as it's something I didn't already know."

"Um…this one's something I've hid for a long time," she said slowly. "I'll tell you, but you have to swear you won't tell anyone…"

Vincent nodded. "I will not tell a soul."

"Is Chaos listening?"

"He stopped caring about our conversation a long time ago. No, he is not listening. If he starts listening, I promise to stop you," Vincent promised.

"Okay…so…" She bit her lip, slowing her pace somewhat as she stepped over a couple of bumps in the field they were crossing. "When I was fifteen, when Sephiroth was still relatively human, when he came to Nibelheim five years ago…"

Vincent saw how awkwardly she was staring at her feet and frowned. "If you do not wish to tell me…"

"No, I will, if you want to know. I have to get it off of my chest."

The black-haired man nodded. "Alright. But if you don't want to tell me, remember that you don't have to."

Tifa shook her head. "I can tell you. I trust you with secrets, if nothing else. And please don't think any less of me. I was a teenager. Anyways…when he was there, I almost—I repeat, _ALMOST,_ meaning it didn't actually happen—slept with him. I was in his hotel room, and in my underwear, and he was about to…but then I realized that it might not be such a good thing, so I burst out crying and started freaking out and since he was still human he didn't make me."

Vincent blinked. "I don't think any less of you…but…why did you do that?"

"I don't know! He wanted me to tell him stuff about Nibelheim and Cloud and stuff like that, so I did, and I was about to leave his hotel room but all of the sudden I was—I don't know! I just really don't know, but I'm really glad I didn't," Tifa admitted. "…Do you hate me now?"

Vincent shook his head. "Of course not. He was still a human at that time, and not yet a threat to the Planet, which makes things different."

Tifa sniffed. "Thanks, Vincent."

"I did nothing to be thanked for…but I have another question that you need not answer if you don't feel like you should."

"Okay."

"Did you kiss him?"

The woman's face turned a shade of red that was even more piercing than Vincent's eyes. "Maybe," she muttered. "Why? Jealous?" she teased.

Vincent shook his head. _Maybe,_ he thought.

* * *

Yumesuta: REVIEW! Please! It took me days to do this chapter. 


	13. Forgiveness

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

Note: Once again, thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers!

Second Note: I updated this story on September 28, 2005. My birthday is on September 29, 2005. So, if I could get a couple more reviews than normal, I'd be a very happy author! Thank yas.

Third Note: Fluffy chapter ahead!

* * *

Chapter 13: Forgiveness

Soon, the sun sank below the horizon and the only lights that shone onto the plains Vincent and Tifa were crossing was the light of the stars, the moon, and Meteor. Because of Meteor the lighting was a bit brighter than it usually was at night, but not by too much.

"Should we stop to rest now?" Tifa asked, yawning. Truthfully, she was silently begging to stop. She'd been walking with her head down and feet dragging for the past couple of hours, exhausted.

Vincent nodded. "That would probably be a good idea," he said in his usual indifferent tone of voice.

"So where are we going to sleep?" Tifa asked, yawning again.

"In tents, if you don't mind," Vincent replied, digging through his belongings until he found what he was looking for.

"Are we going to sleep in different ones, or…?" Tifa bit her lip when she asked. Truthfully, though, she didn't mind either way. She was starting to forgive him.

"I brought two. However one seems to have a rather large hole in the side. I will sleep in that one, then," said the red-eyed man.

"But then wouldn't that take out the point of even using a tent? We could share one…I guess…" Tifa murmured. "I mean we shared a bed once before so this can't be much different, right?"

"I suppose you have a point there," said Vincent, discarding the torn tent, "but since you are a woman I should give you your privacy. I would not mind sleeping outside, if it meant giving you your needed space."

The wine-eyed girl frowned. "That wouldn't be comfortable for you, though, would it?"

"I have managed before, so I can manage again."

"Vincent…" Tifa sighed and shook her head. "I don't forgive you all the way yet, but you're respectful enough that I wouldn't mind if you had to share a tent with me."

The ex-Turk sighed, giving in. "Alright. I'll try to control myself, then."

"Hey, you've been doing pretty good so far…"

Tifa sat down as Vincent sat up the tent, as he kept insisting he didn't need help. Within a couple of minutes, the tent, which was a plain tan in color, was set up.

"Ladies first," Vincent said, stepping away from the entrance of the tent so that Tifa could enter.

It was hard for the woman to find her way in the dark, but she managed anyway.

After she was comfortably sitting near the back of her tent, her bag of belongings sitting next to her, Vincent crawled in.

"There isn't much space," the red-eyed man observed, sitting cross-legged near the entrance of the tent. "That will not be a problem, though, will it?"

Tifa shook her head. "No…"

"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable," Vincent said gently.

The dark-haired woman yawned again, rubbing at her eyes. "I'm tired, but not the sort of tired where I could fall asleep just yet," she muttered.

Vincent nodded. "You may sleep when you're ready."

"You know," the wine-eyed girl said with a small smile, "we really don't have to be at opposite ends of the tent."

The ex-Turk hesitated for a moment, then moved next to Tifa.

"You know…" the woman started, and was silent for a moment. When the right words came to her mind, she said, "I forgive you."

Though Vincent's lips couldn't smile, his eyes were. Even in the dim light, she could see the expression perfectly displayed in his deep, bright crimson eyes.

Tifa took a deep breath before continuing. "I forgive you because I sort of, well…I dunno…I love you…"

It was a few minutes before either of them did anything. Tifa looked down and bit her lip and cursed at herself inwardly, thinking she'd completely messed up her chances with the man.

"…I…love you too, Tifa."

Tifa was surprised at these words. She gazed at the man, smiling softly as they neared each other. The dark-haired man gently pulled the woman towards him so that she was sitting in his lap, their arms twined around each other. Vincent's metal arm was wrapped firmly around her waist, his natural hand gently caressing her upper back as she listened to his heartbeat.

After a moment, Vincent softly cupped Tifa's chin with his natural hand and brought her lips to his. The kiss sent chills down both of their spines. It wasn't their first kiss, but it was just as good—no, better—than their first.

The red-eyed man gently nibbled the woman's lips, tenderly caressing her back as she wrapped her arms around his neck, sliding one hand through his hair. He was so teasing in this kiss; when he licked her lips and she attempted to return the gesture he pulled his tongue back. Tifa whimpered, her fingers practically digging into his shoulders.

Vincent stopped teasing and slid his tongue through his lover's lips, caressing her tongue gently. He let out a low, quiet moan when she kissed him back.

Finally, the couple ran out of breath and had to break away from each other. Tifa rested her head on her lover's chest, listening to his quiet, steady heartbeat.

"Tifa…?" Vincent asked timidly.

"Mmm?"

"I was wondering if—"

A quiet snore sounded, and, looking down he was slightly disappointed to find that Tifa was asleep. He sighed, reluctant to remove her from her position, but he did, gently lying her on her back. Digging through his own belongings, he couldn't find a blanket for her so he whisked off his cape and slid it over top of her so that it served as a blanket. Quietly, he lay down next to her.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

* * *

"Have you found anything yet?" Cloud asked. Deprived of sleep for twenty-four hours, he was grumpy, but refused to sleep. He wanted to find Tifa, and he wanted to find her soon.

Cid sighed and shook his head. "Nah. Nothin' yet but we're searchin' with all we got!"

Barret walked over to Cloud, shaking his head. "Look, Spike. We're all worried about her, okay? But you jes' need to get some damned sleep!"

Cloud was about to protest, but Yuffie, hyper as always, jumped out from…somewhere…and pushed him until he found himself in his Highwind bedroom. Sighing, the spiky-haired leader gave in and fell onto his bed, falling asleep immediately.

Yuffie trotted almost happily back to the engine room. She wasn't fully happy because both Cloud AND Red were using hair gel now. She wanted to braid someone's hair! Therefore, she wanted Tifa back.

"Shouldn't she be in the same place?" the young ninja whined.

"No," said Red. "Vincent isn't stupid. If he was there before, he won't stay there and risk being caught again."

Yuffie scowled and plopped onto the floor, picking at her shoes.

* * *

Yumesuta: Short chapter, but I promise the next one will be longer. Please review! 


	14. The Date

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Note: Thank you SO MUCH for all of my wonderful reviews and "Happy birthday" messages!

Second Note: I ALMOST HAVE 100 REVIEWS! OH YEAH! HEE! SQUEAL! And no, I'm not taking any type of drugs or medication. The fact that I could get 100 reviews on this story before chapter 20 just makes me ecstatic…

* * *

Chapter 14: The Date

She regained her consciousness after sleeping but didn't want to open her eyes, even though she could tell it was light outside. She felt so wonderful; it was as though she were floating.

Then she realized that someone was carrying her.

Tifa's eyelids snapped open immediately and she looked up. Crimson eyes met hers and she blushed.

"Um…did I oversleep?" she asked timidly.

"Is that really a question you have to ask?" Vincent replied, his voice smiling. "Don't be worried; it is not that big of a deal. If you wish to walk, though, I will set you down…"

"Well…as much as I just _love_ walking, um, I do have to say that this is my favorite way to get from place to place," the dark-haired woman sighed shyly, giggling. "But if your arms get tired, I'll walk."

The red-eyed man continued walking. "Don't worry. I don't mind carrying you in the least."

Tifa smiled. "That wouldn't be fair though. I'll walk…"

The ex-Turk shrugged and gently set her down, then handed her the bag he'd given her with her belongings in it. She dug through it, found her comb, and skillfully untangled her hair while walking.

"So, last night…you said my name but I fell asleep before you could say anything else. Were you going to ask me anything?" Tifa asked, not because she wanted him to ask her anything specific but because she just wanted to know.

"Well…"

"Oh, come on!" the woman pressed, sticking her comb back into her brown bag. "You know you can tell me."

Vincent clenched his teeth together. No, he wasn't aggravated—it was just that since he couldn't bite his lip, he had to find a substitute.

"I was wondering if maybe, you'd, um…like to…like to…"

Tifa silently, patiently waited for the man to ask what he was going to ask.

"Well…what I'm trying to say is, as we're close to the Gold Saucer, would you like to, perhaps, go on a date…? As a couple, and not captor and captive…" he managed to say awkwardly.

He thought he had been rejected when his offer was met only by her silence, but when he turned to look at her, Tifa was beaming.

"YES!" she squealed, flinging her arms around his waist.

Vincent was slightly taken aback by her response, but was happy nonetheless.

"Wonderful," he said softly. It was another one of those moments where he wished he could smile. "When we get there we should probably clean up a little bit first but then we can go on our date…is that alright with you?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't it be?" the wine-eyed woman asked.

"I was merely making sure."

* * *

It hadn't been long since their last visit to the amusement park, but it had already changed a lot. There were a lot more attractions, and a lot more shops—in fact, if it weren't for the fact that the only type of housing there was in the place was the hotel, it could have been a city. Well…a city for the rich people who could be able to afford the lifestyle there, anyway.

"With all of the changes they made," Tifa observed, glancing around their hotel room, "couldn't they have at LEAST made the hotel less…cheesy?"

"It's an amusement park, Tifa. It's going to have something cheesy somewhere in it…besides, the room's nice enough," Vincent responded nonchalantly. "You go ahead, go out and do what you need to do to get ready—what I mean is, if you want to, say, buy a new outfit or something, go ahead and do that. I'll be here, getting myself ready."

"Okay, but I don't have any gil…"

"…And you think I'm not going to give you some? No, you don't have to pay me back. Don't pay me back, in fact. You don't have to give me your change, but if you wish to, you are most certainly welcome to," he said, hinting that he wanted his change.

Tifa giggled. "Okay, I'll give you your change."

She gratefully took the money he handed her, hastily ripped her comb through her hair once more and darted off to the park's shopping center.

The woman didn't care that she hadn't taken a shower since before they left. _I look okay for shopping,_ she thought, glancing at herself in a mirror. _Besides, there's a LOT of people who look a LOT worse after not showering._

They had several clothing shops, so Tifa randomly entered one of them and began looking around. Their selection wasn't very wide, but she still had a hard time deciding and finally chose a lilac-colored shirt with thin straps for sleeves and a pair of jeans that, though very similar to the ones she had on at the time, weren't so loose. That was okay, though; she didn't anticipate having to kick anyone's head while on her date.

After making her purchase, she headed back towards the hotel. Vincent had, somehow, already gotten ready. He looked the way he always did, minus the headband and cape—probably because he wanted to blend in a little more. He would have done a great job, too, if it weren't for his large, golden claw.

"I'm gonna get ready now," said Tifa.

She turned on the shower, then scowled. It seemed that Vincent stole most of the hot water. Gritting her teeth together, she ignored the iciness of the water and hastily washed herself off.

That done, she cut the tags off of her new outfit, got dressed, brushed her teeth, blow dried her hair, and exited the bathroom.

"Hot water stealer," she teased, sliding one arm across Vincent's shoulders.

The man raised one eyebrow. "I could have told you, you know…well, are you ready?"

"Yep!"

* * *

Cid steered the Highwind over the Gold Saucer and scowled at it unhappily.

"Think they're there?" asked Yuffie hopefully.

"Why WOULD they be there? There are too many people, and it would be easy for Vincent to be caught if we were to go there…just wait in the room that leads to all of the other places, and eventually they'd show up. That'd be a stupid place for them to go," Cloud sighed. "Let's not even waste our time there."

"But you never know!" Yuffie shrieked.

Cloud shook his head. "If we can't find Tifa anywhere else, we'll stop there…"

"So what are ya gonna to do Vinnie once you find him?" the hyper young ninja asked.

The spiky-haired leader's blue-green eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but I promise you it will cause the man great pain…"

"Uh…EW, I don't think I'll watch his punishment then. Blood's icky," Yuffie gagged. "So then what're ya gonna do with Tifa?"

"…I'm not sure, but I know I'll make sure she's safe," the blonde man said.

"Well, I know what I'M gonna do!" said Yuffie. "Everyone else's hair is either too short or plastered together with that stupid hair gel, so I hope she doesn't mind having her lovely long hair braided into a zillion braids!" she said, cackling evilly. Then she continued cackling, and cackling, and cackling…

"Damn, she's a scary girl," Barret grunted, stepping away from his Wutainese comrade.

* * *

Despite Vincent's lack of love for immense crowds of people, he had to admit he was enjoying himself—even on the rides. He hadn't ridden any type of amusement park ride thirty years, and he'd forgotten how fun it was…he couldn't scream, laugh, smile, or anything like that (Chaos absolutely refused to let him), but Tifa could still tell he was having fun.

"So what now?" she asked as they exited another ride.

Vincent glanced at a clock that was displayed above the ride. "It's 7:23 p.m. Do you want to go somewhere to get some dinner?" he suggested.

"Sure, where do you want to go?"

"We passed a restaurant a while ago…I do not know what it is called or what sort of food they serve there, but do you want to go there?" Vincent asked.

"Okay," the dark-haired woman said, shrugging.

It was somewhat small, but it looked nice on the inside. It had a generic name—something along the lines of Gold Saucer Super Diner—but it seemed like it would be okay. There was music playing in the background, and some couples, along with other people, were dancing in a cleared space with no tables. Some people were dressed fancy, while others were just dressed in plain clothing so the two would fit in fine.

Tifa followed Vincent over to a small table and they examined the menu.

"They have a lot of stuff," Tifa muttered, frowning slightly as she scanned the menu. She wasn't too good at picking out food to eat. "They even have Wutain food…but they don't tell you what it is! Do you know what any Wutain food is?"

"I know some. Tell me one and I could be able to tell you what it is," Vincent offered.

"Okay then…What's unagi?"

"…That would be eel."

"Oh. Wow. Um…what's tako?" she asked, placing her finger over another food.

The red-eyed man chuckled. "That would be octopus."

Tifa's wine-colored eyes widened. "Gah. Is there anything on here that isn't made of anything that wouldn't pass my lips if I were back home?"

"You know, I've had all of those before and they weren't bad…they have spaghetti here, do you just want to order that?" Vincent asked.

"Well, what are you ordering?"

"Grilled chicken," he answered simply.

"Ok, I'll have spaghetti then."

Once the waitress came, they placed their orders and waited.

"So," Tifa started, wanting to break the silence. "Um…have you ever been on a date before?"

"Yes, several. Once I asked Lucretia—you know who that is, right?" asked Vincent, remembering that Tifa didn't know everything about his past.

"Wasn't she Sephiroth's mother?" Tifa mused.

"Yes. Well, I asked her to go on a date before, and she said no, that I'd hold her on the date and that holding another makes you look weak. But I later heard her telling Hojo…" He gave a short, bitter laugh. "But I later overheard her tell Hojo that it was because she didn't want my filthy arms around her, and that she couldn't be caught dead in public alone with me."

"Ouch…" Tifa whispered.

"Yes. And Hojo said that if I ever dared to touch her, he'd chop my good arm off."

"You were left-handed?" Tifa asked, somewhat awed that he'd learn to use his right hand so well.

"No. Well, somewhat…I was ambidextrous, but I mostly told people that I was left-handed. Hojo thought I was left-handed, and so, he amputated my left arm…"

"I really hate that man," the dark-haired woman seethed.

"We all do, even though we don't have to worry about him any more."

"True. Oh, and…well, never mind," she sighed.

Vincent shrugged and didn't press what she was going to say out of her.

"So have _you_ ever been on a date before?" the red-eyed man asked, not wanting to stop the conversation.

Tifa gave a somewhat laugh. "I don't suppose my 'episode' with Sephiroth counts, does it…?"

"How did that come to happen, anyway?" he wanted to know.

The woman sighed. "I was fifteen, okay? I was stupid when I was fifteen. I regret what I did to this day, even though I didn't lose any of my innocence. He wanted to know things about the Nibel Mountains…I told him…I was about to leave…I think my mistake was turning around to tell him bye," she said.

"Why is that?" asked Vincent.

"Well, when I turned, our eyes met and…I was scared of him, Vincent, and at that age everyone wants a little romance…I was scared he'd kill me if I told him no," she confessed.

"So why did he let you live when you started crying?"

"He said that I was just a little girl, let me get dressed, and said he'd come back for me when I was a woman. Of course, when he lost his humanity he probably forgot all about me. You know what? That's a good thing, because I'm perfectly happy with you," Tifa sighed, smiling at the end of her small rant.

"…And I am perfectly happy with you."

The food came then, ruining the little moment that they were going to have.

"Later," Vincent mouthed to Tifa after thanking the waitress.

His date blushed.

They ate in a comfortable silence, watching the other couples dance, listening to the music. There wasn't much more to say at that time.

"I love this song," Tifa squealed as a new song, a slow, romantic song, came on after a while.

Vincent stood up, walked over to her side of the oaken table, and offered his good hand smoothly. "Would you like to dance?" he offered. If silk had a sound, it would have been the man's voice when he asked the question.

His partner's insides fluttered. Smiling, she nodded and took his hand, his palm soft and warm in hers. He led her to the dance floor and slid his arms around her waist as she, at the same time, slid her arms around his neck.

Tifa was close to the man and took in his scent as they slowly twirled around the same place over and over again. They occasionally gazed into each other's eyes, speaking without using words. Vincent leaned in, his lips brushing against her ears.

"You're beautiful," he whispered.

They were slightly disappointed when the song ended, replaced by silence as the people in charge of the music searched for another song. Sitting down, Vincent paid the bill, tipped the waitress, and beckoned for Tifa to follow him.

It was near midnight when they reached the hotel room again.

"…I had fun," the dark-haired woman murmured as she entered the deep red room.

"So did I," Vincent replied, closing and locking the door behind him.

Tifa sat on the edge of the scarlet bed, the quilt wrinkling slightly under her lightweight body. "…I sort of wish that you didn't have to kidnap me in order for us to be together like this, but at the same time, I'm sort of glad…I do miss the others though. A lot…"

The red-eyed man nodded and sat next to her, wrapping his metal arm around her waist to pull her into his warmth. "I know you do. I shouldn't keep you like this for much longer. I have the feeling that we are going to run into the others soon…and as much as I wish for you to be happy, I am also afraid of not being able to see you any more…"

"Why wouldn't you be able to?" Tifa asked, frowning.

"You know that the entire team is very fond of you, Tifa. You are more precious than the Keystone or Materia…I do not anticipate a light punishment," he said quietly, bowing his head somewhat.

"Well, because you sent them away when they tried to rescue me, don't you think that your punishment's just going to be even worse?" she sighed, frowning sadly.

"Yes. I regret that. But I had to! If I didn't, Chaos would have killed you. He still wants you dead."

"What about your other demons? What do THEY think about me?" Tifa wanted to know.

"Hellmasker is Chaos's right-hand man. Anything Chaos says, Hellmasker agrees with him. Death Gigas doesn't care about my personal life at all. Gallian Beast is the only demon I get along with well. He wants you to live…but he is not as strong as Chaos and therefore cannot stop him from taking control of my body," Vincent explained, rising his head from its droop.

"No offense is meant by this, but you have one screwed up mind," Tifa sighed.

"I know."

The wine-eyed girl scooted to the back of the bead and leaned against the headboard, kicking off her shoes. "I'm tired," she yawned, sliding down so that her head rested on one of the crimson pillows.

"It _is_ midnight, so I suppose that would make sense," said Vincent, sliding out of his boots as he moved back to join her. "So are you sure you had a good time…?"  
"Yes, I'm sure! It was the best night I've had in a long time…" She moved a bit closer to Vincent and examined his torso. "Do you have scars?"

"Yes…why…?"

"Just wondering…um…can I see them?"

Vincent clenched his teeth in the way another person would have bit their lip. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea…"

"Why not? It's just your torso. Besides, you're a man so it's not illegal."

The red-eyed man gave in and, somewhat reluctantly, he removed his shirt.

"Oh my gosh," Tifa said quietly, her wine-colored eyes scanning his many scars. "What happened to you…? This is all because of Hojo, isn't it?"

Vincent nodded reluctantly. "It's hideous, isn't it?"

She bit her lip. The abundance of scarring was definitely not pretty, but she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Scars or no scars, you're still a wonderful person."

She rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his natural arm around her, allowing her to come closer. He didn't want to go too far—he knew they'd both regret that, but he was completely in control for now.

Tifa traced his scars, her fingertips kissing his torso softly as she did so. The man held back a moan, and it took every single ounce of his self-control to stop from pouncing on her to find and explore what was really beneath her outfit, even though what she was doing was very gentle.

Finally, part of his control snapped somewhat and he rolled over, capturing her in a very passionate kiss.

* * *

Yumesuta: So, that's a nice, long chapter, no? I hope you all liked it! Please review! 


	15. The Search

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Note: Thank you, once again, to all of my wonderful reviewers! GAH! I have more than 100 reviews now! SQUEAL! I can hear the Hallelujah Chorus…

Second Note: If you guessed, had the vague thought, registered, or otherwise knew, that Vincent took Tifa on a date at the Gold Saucer because it's the last place Cloud and the others would look for them, give yourself a big pat on the back because you're RIGHT! Good work guessing, though it may have been obvious…ah well.

Third Note: I know that some of you were worried about the ending of the last chapter…let out that anxious breath you were holding; the beginning of the chapter explains what, if anything, went on…

* * *

Chapter 15: The Search

Tifa didn't want to open her eyes.

Vincent's embrace felt too wonderful to disturb. If she opened her eyes and he was awake, he'd know she was awake and get up, and by doing so that would break the embrace,

She was also afraid of what she might find.

Even though the woman was pretty sure that she was still a virgin, that no sex had taken place during the night between her and Vincent, she wasn't completely certain.

Deciding to find out for sure, she slowly opened one eye and peeked under the covers…

…Her clothes were still on, with the exception of her shoes, and Vincent's pants were on.

A sigh of mingled relief and slight disappointment escaped Tifa's lips and she opened her wine-colored eyes all the way, glancing up at the man's face.

"Good morning, Tifa," said a deep, silken voice.

Tifa smiled and pulled herself up towards the headboard so that their eyes were level. "Hey, Vincent," she yawned.

"…Were you looking for something?"

"Oh. Um…I was just making sure that I didn't lose anything," she responded, shrugging.

The red-eyed man planted a very gentle, brief kiss on the woman's lips. "Don't worry, I took nothing from you…well…except for your freedom, but I'm sure that's not what you were checking, was it?" he asked, a hint of a smile in his voice.

Tifa shook her head.

"Ah, and before I forget…how's your shoulder doing?" Vincent wanted to know, sitting up.

The dark-haired woman blushed. She'd almost forgotten about her shoulder, but also, she'd almost forgotten that Vincent wasn't wearing a shirt. "I haven't really noticed any pain lately," she muttered, embarrassed at the heat she felt rising into her face as her gaze lingered, almost of its own accord, at her beloved's torso.

"That's a good sign. I should probably check it and see if it is at the point where it can be healed by Materia or Potions," Vincent mused, sliding out of the bed. Noticing her gaze, his eyes smiled and he leaned to her, allowing their lips to briefly brush against each other.

Tifa's blush intensified and she sighed when Vincent went to dig through his few belongings to find medicinal items. She never grew tired of his kisses, at all.

As Vincent slid back into his shirt and returned to the bed with a small Materia orb in his hand, he frowned, knowing that his time left with Tifa was limited—the others were sure to find them eventually. Though he often grew tired of most other people within the first fifteen minutes of being with them, he felt as though he'd barely been with Tifa and really didn't want to end his time with her. He never grew tired of her presence.

"Let me check the injury," he instructed, helping her to sit up (despite the fact that she was capable of sitting up on her own).

Tifa obediently removed her shirt. She wouldn't be revealing anything to him—she was, after all, a woman, and most women, after all, do wear bras.

Vincent carefully coaxed the sticky adhesive Band-Aid off of her shoulder and examined the wound. "It seems to be to the point where Materia can heal it," he observed, handling the orb so that a green light engulfed his beloved. Seconds later, the pretty light of healing power was gone, along with the wound.

"Thanks, Vincent," said Tifa, smiling, as she replaced her shirt.

"It was no problem…by the way, we will be departing soon so go ahead and get ready. I will take a shower after you do, if you decide to take a shower," Vincent said softly, handing Tifa her bag.

"Okay." Tifa slid out of bed and knelt near the middle of the furniture used for sleeping, digging through her bag. In order to get a better look at her clean clothes, she removed her skirt and set it on the edge of the bed.

Vincent decided to make the bed and pulled the sheets up—over her skirt, having not realized it was there.

When Tifa finally found the outfit in her belongings that she wanted to wear, she pulled it out and closed the bag, forgetting that her skirt was there.

"I'm gonna go shower now," she called over her shoulder, heading towards the bathroom.

* * *

"Cloud," Cid grunted, "we've looked everywhere and no damn Tifa." 

"Hey, she might be at the Gold Saucer! Ya know, the place you didn't wanna look?" Yuffie suggested hopefully, really wanting to go to the park.

Cloud sighed, sliding his hand to his forehead. Though he really doubted they'd be there, he decided to give it a shot. He'd even ask people if they'd seen her. It wouldn't hurt to try, not now that she was nowhere else. "Fine, we'll look there…but this is NOT a vacation, Yuffie," he said firmly, glaring at the young ninja.

"I don't care about a vacation, I just wanna go there!" the dark-haired girl said, jumping up and down in glee.

* * *

"_They are coming,"_ Hellmasker snarled at Vincent. 

"_You are leaving, as soon as possible, or else the girl will die the most painful death we can possibly give her," _Chaos instructed cruelly.

"_Fine,"_ Vincent sighed to his demons, but only because he really didn't want Tifa to die a painful death—really, he didn't want her to die at all, but if she did die he'd rather it be a quick, easy, painless death. She didn't deserve to suffer.

A couple of minutes later, Tifa emerged from the bathroom, her hair still sopping wet. "Okay, you can get in now," she said cheerfully.

Vincent nodded and took a very hasty shower. The longer he took, the worse the headache Chaos gave him became.

Managing to very quickly blow dry his hair, he replaced his clothing (including his cape and headband) before exiting the bathroom.

"We should be leaving now…" he muttered worriedly, grabbing his belongings as Tifa grabbed hers.

"Okay," she said, obediently following him out of the room, out of the hotel, and out of the Gold Saucer. "Where are we going?" she asked when they stood outside of Coral.

"Nibelheim…it's a bit far away, but I very much wish to be far away from this place," the man said through clenched teeth as his worst demons gave him a terrible headache whenever he tried to stop.

"Oh…well…fine with me," the wine-eyed woman said, frowning slightly at the man's vagueness.

* * *

They didn't know for sure that they had been there, but by the time the remaining group entered the Gold Saucer, Vincent and Tifa were long gone. 

Cloud sometimes carried a picture of Tifa with him in his pocket. He'd found a pretty recent picture of her, and had it with him to use when he asked people if they'd seen her.

Displaying his lifetime pass to the employee at the entrance, he also showed her the picture and asked, "Have you seen this woman before…?"

The employee accepted his pass, then nodded at the picture. "Yeah, she came in here yesterday."

"Was she with anyone and have you seen her today?" Cloud asked anxiously, motioning to the rest of the group.

"I just got on duty a few minutes ago so she might have left…so no I haven't seen her today. But yeah, she was with someone," the employee shrugged.

"Who? What did they look like?"

"I don't know the person's name, but he was a man. He was tall and had dark hair, I think…and a totally weird-looking arm," the woman said in a bored tone. "Look, you can go ask other people. I don't know everything."

"I will. Thanks a lot," Cloud breathed, entering the main station of the park.

"I TOLD YOU SHE MIGHT BE HERE!" Yuffie shrieked, jumping up and down in triumph.

"Yes. And you were right. That doesn't mean much," Red snorted.

"So…Red and Yuffie, you come with me," Cloud said, interrupting the two. "The rest of you, I want you to check the Event Square, Battle Square, and Chocobo Square. We'll check the rest of the place."

Everyone nodded and split up into their appropriate groups.

"So, Cloud, where are we checking first?" Red asked.

"First, we check the hotel," he instructed. Yuffie and Red nodded.

Once there, the spiky-haired leader approached the front desk and the man who managed the hotel (dressed as a dead person, of course) appeared.

"May I help you?" he asked in a creepy voice.

"Have you seen this woman?" Cloud asked, a bit nervous as he slid the photo onto the desk. "Please. It's very important."

"Ah…" the owner said, getting rid of the whole I-am-scary-and-dead act. "Why, yes. She checked in just yesterday."

"Was she with a man with a metal arm?" Cloud asked, certain his heart stopped.

"…Now that you mention it, yes, the man's arm was metal. His eyes were also red, he wore a tattered red cape, a red headband, a black dress shirt and pants, and I think he was carrying a gun. He checked in under the name 'Vincent Valentine' I believe," the owner, Mr. Hangman, said, digging through his memory to try and remember. "Ah, and they checked out just this morning, about one hour before you got here."

The trio's hearts jumped in unison.

"What room were they in?" Cloud demanded. "And can I have a key to that room?"

Mr. Hangman nodded, handing them a small brass key. "Room 18," he muttered.

Once they reached the room, Yuffie and Red looked at Cloud, expecting orders.

"…Yuffie, look in the closet. Red, look in the bathroom, and I guess I'll look at the bed," the young blonde man said, heart pounding as the two nodded again and took off to their assigned locations.

The bed appeared to be neatly made. Starting with the pillows, he examined both of them carefully. On the left pillow, there were a few long, dark strands of hair, identical to the hairs on Tifa's head. On the right side, there were a couple long, black strands of hair.

"There are two beds…and yet they shared one," the man growled, feeling his temperature rise. Seeing a maid in the hallway, he stopped her. "Hey, do you have a plastic baggie I could have? Or two?"

The maid nodded and reached into the bag she was carrying then handed him two plastic bags. Cloud thanked her and rushed back into the room. He put Vincent's hairs into one bag and Tifa's hair into the other bag, sealing them tight. Why? He wasn't sure why, exactly, but it could be helpful.

Sliding those into his pockets, he ripped the blankets off of the bed…

…And, on the same side of the bed he found her hairs on, he found Tifa's skirt.

* * *

Yumesuta: Wow, fast update for me. So, what do you think of that chapter? Can ya guess what's going through Cloud's head right about now? Hee, hee…well, PLEASE review! 


	16. The Search Grows

Disclaimer: If I owned Final Fantasy VII, I would also own a nice, big villa in a Costa del Sol-like place, which I don't. So, therefore, I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

Note: Once again, thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers! My apologies for the semi-long wait to update this fic. My computer has been acting like a mentally challenged chicken for the past few days, so don't blame me, blame my mentally challenged chicken of a computer.

Second Note: There's going to be some hints of CidxShera throughout the rest of the fic. Just a warning in case you don't like this couple…

* * *

Chapter 16: The Search Grows

"We're here already?" Tifa asked, mildly surprised as the couple reached the outskirts of Nibelheim. Of course, she didn't need to ask; she could easily recognize her hometown from miles away.

"Of course. The walk from Coral to Nibelheim is actually quite a short walk if you don't make any stops," Vincent explained in his usual emotionless tone.

"Are we staying the night here?"

"Yes. And we will be staying in the inn, as the mansion is unsuitable for any human or human-like life forms to reside there for any length of time," the red-eyed man explained again.

"Oh. Okay…" In all honesty, the dark-haired woman didn't like the mansion much after her little "moment" with Sephiroth. _I'll manage,_ she told herself firmly. _Don't be so selfish._

"So, where are we going after this?" she asked cheerfully as they neared the inn.

"After this, we'll pass through the mountains and head to Rocket Town…"

"Rocket Town…? Shera lives in Rocket Town…" Tifa muttered. She sighed and shook her head inwardly. Yes, she loved Vincent, but she still wanted to be with the others again, and she wanted to let Cloud know she was safe.

_I wonder if Shera kept in contact with Cid…_ she pondered. _If they kept in contact, I could have Shera tell Cid where I am, and then I could be found…but then, I don't want to hurt Vincent's feelings…_

"Oh, damn it," she muttered, knuckling her forehead. "Everything's too confusing."

"Is something wrong, Tifa?" Vincent asked, concern briefly flashing across his crimson eyes. They were right outside the inn at that point.

"Huh? Oh, uh, not really. I was just thinking," the dark-haired woman said awkwardly.

"…We'll talk more once we get our room."

Tifa regained her train of thoughts as Vincent paid the innkeeper and led her to the room. She didn't even notice that she'd changed where she was until she looked up and saw Vincent gazing out the window.

"So, what was confusing?" he asked, turning to face her after moving across the room to close the oaken door.

Tifa bit her lip. It seemed like Vincent had forgotten about Shera, and in all honesty if it meant her rescue (though she loved spending time with Vincent), she didn't want to remind him.

But he hadn't forgotten. "If you're thinking about Shera, you are not going to have the opportunity to talk with her," he said. He hadn't meant to, but Vincent said that in a tone of voice that reminded Tifa that she was the victim of a kidnapping.

"What? Why not?" Tifa demanded.

"…I am not stupid, Tifa, though I know you do not think I am. Cid calls Shera almost every night. I am very certain that she is aware of your situation. I am also very certain that if she is not, if you were to speak with her you would let slip your situation and ask her for assistance. If you were to ask her for assistance, I am sure she would help you and I cannot allow that to happen," Vincent said. Though his voice was soft, his wine-eyed captive couldn't help but find the harshness in it.

"So," she challenged bitterly, "if you know that's going on why are you even going there?"

"Chaos is instructing me to do so and as long as he is not instructing me to harm you, I have to obey him. Why he wants to go there, I am not sure, but I am sure of one thing: We will find out once we get there."

Tifa crossed her arms and sat on the edge of the bed, turning her head away from the man. Sighing, she shook her head. "Just when I think you love me, you go and do something to remind me that I'm just some dumb part of your demonic schemes."

Vincent was somewhat stung by those words. "Tifa, I _do_ love you, more than anyone could ever imagine. If I was in full control of myself, none of this would have ever happened, but I am not."  
"You blame Chaos for everything."

"Everything is Chaos's fault."

"I'm sure it is, but you're really gonna have to think of a better excuse than that eventually," she mumbled.

Vincent shrugged and sat beside Tifa, placing his natural arm around her. "Maybe I will. But right now, I'm going to go purchase some food. Do you have any requests?"

"Not really…"

"Alright, then. I will be back soon. Don't go anywhere."

The red-eyed man reluctantly removed his arm from around his captive, then moved towards the door. It creaked very slightly as he pushed it open.

"Pickles!"

"…What?" Vincent asked, turning to look at Tifa.

"…Er, I just had a sudden craving for pickles…if you find any, do you think you could get a small jar?" the woman asked in an almost childishly hopeful tone of voice.

The ex-Turk had one of his "I-want-to-smile-but-I-can't" moments. "Certainly," he said. "Don't go anywhere."

* * *

Red leapt off of the bed Tifa and Vincent had been in and shook his head. "Cloud, I can't find any evidence that they had sex. Stop worrying now, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Cloud asked anxiously.

"I'm certain. I can't smell any fluids, and I can't smell any birth control."

"Wow, you can smell a lot of things," Yuffie observed from the spot she was sitting cross-legged on the scarlet carpeted floor.

"Yes, I can. I think it's one of the blessings of being a dog-like guinea pig," Red said, shrugging. He turned his one eye to Cloud and shrugged again. "Really, Cloud, don't be worried."

Cloud let out a huge sigh of relief. "…You really, really don't know how relieved that makes me," he said, Tifa's skirt still clutched tightly in his hand.

"So, what now, Mr. Leader?" Yuffie asked, leaping up from her spot on the floor.

"I'm gonna call the others. You two, go back to the Highwind—and Yuffie that means go DIRECTLY to the Highwind. You are NOT taking any stops to do ANYTHING," Cloud instructed.

"Aww," the young ninja whined, pouting slightly as she followed her dog-like friend out to the aforementioned airship.

Minutes later, the remaining gang stood in the conference room, looking expectantly at their spiky-haired leader.

"So, Spike, what'd ya find?" Barret asked, scratching the back of his head.

"…It turns out that I was wrong, and that Vincent did, in fact, take Tifa to the Gold Saucer. Why, though, I'll never know…anyway, this means that they could be anywhere," the leader explained.

"So, what are we gonna do now? We have to go fight Sephiroth soon, or we're all doomed," Cait Sith said.

"You shithead, we have more time than you think, damn it," Cid barked, putting out one of his cigarettes to grab another and light it.

"How can you tell?" Cait Sith muttered, a bit hurt at being called a "shithead".

"That damned Meteor hasn't come an inch closer in three days! We've got some damned time!" the grumpy pilot snapped.

"…If what Cid says is true—and no, Cid, I'm not saying I don't believe you—than our immediate concern is to get Tifa. Anyway, BEFORE I was interrupted," Cloud growled, shooting a slight glare at the mechanical moogle-cat hybrid, "they could be anywhere. So, listen up, here's the plan!"

Red nudged Yuffie, who had been daydreaming. She then turned her attention to Cloud.

"Since we don't know where she is, and since she could be anywhere, we're going to split up. Yuffie, you're going to be in Wutai," Cloud started.

"Aww, man…"

"Red, you're going to be in Cosmo Canyon and Gongaga. Think you can handle two places?" Cloud asked.

"It won't be a problem," Red replied, standing up.

"Good. Barret, you're taking Coral, the Gold Saucer, and, though I'm nervous about sending anyone there, Costa del Sol…"

"Awright."

"Cait Sith, you're taking Junon and Fort Condor."

"Sure thing," Cait Sith chirped, bouncing once to show he didn't mind.

"Cid, you're still calling Shera, right?" the spiky-haired young man asked.

"Yep, I call her every other damned night!" he said after taking a drag on his cigarette.

"Okay. Cid, I want you to call Shera and have her keep a watch for her in Rocket Town. I want you to take the Highwind and patrol the skies—keep an extra eye on the places that I didn't assign anyone to," Cloud instructed.

"No shit," said Cid as a way of telling Cloud he didn't mind.

"So what are YOU gonna do?" Yuffie asked.

"I'm going to keep an eye on Nibelheim and the surrounding mountains. Cid, drop me off first, then drop off everyone else in whatever order you want, okay? I want you all to keep your PHS with you at ALL TIMES. If you find her, or if you find Vincent, I want you to hit the 'Alert All' button. The others will be able to tell who hit the button and where they are," Cloud explained.

"So lemme guess," said Cid in a grumpy tone. "Once someone hits that button, you want me to pick everyone up and head towards wherever the person that hit the 'Alert All' button is?"

"Exactly. And if you happen to be the one to hit the 'Alert All' button, I want you to get Vincent and Tifa onboard somehow. Vincent stays in the Chocobo Room, and Tifa is to stay with you at all times. Save your bathroom breaks until later, understood?" Cloud demanded.

Cid nodded.

"And even if you aren't the one to find them, Vincent still stays in the Chocobo Room. Tifa is to stay in the control room. Does everyone understand?"

The group nodded.

"Okay. Cid, call Shera, then drop me off, then drop the others off."

Cid nodded again and took out his PHS, then dialed a number. "Hey, Shera, I got some shitty favor to ask ya…"

* * *

Yumesuta: Looks like the fic only has a few chapters left. Oh well…I gotta think about what to put in the next chapter. So, PLEASE review! 


	17. Fear, Nostalgia and Love

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. In fact, I don't own any part of the Final Fantasy series. I don't even have a doll of any of the characters…do they even sell those in America? Either way, I don't own one.

Note: My computer's a mentally challenged chicken. Blame slow/bad updates on that. If you spot any typos, please point them out so I can fix them. (Just don't center an entire review on just typos.)

Second Note: Much thanks to all of my great reviewers! Don't worry, this fic still has a few chapters to be squeezed in. I know that the very last chapter will be an epilogue chapter…I want to at least have twenty chapters though.

Third Note: Eh, the Sephiroth-Tifa Incident seems to have a bigger role in this story than I thought it would when I first typed it. I hope none of you mind. Also, there's fluff in this chapter! After reading the fluff in previous chapters I'm sure none of you will mind, as long as I keep this fic lemon-free. (Which I will, don't you worry…)

* * *

Chapter 17: Fear, Nostalgia and Love

A soft rain started up outside, gradually splattering the cold window of the room with rain. Tifa sighed, remembering the night that began her status as Vincent's captive. It had been raining then, and she remembered feeling the icy coolness of the rain through the closed window. The steady, light rhythmic beat of this particular rain was not as heavy, nor as loud, as the one that had occurred that night, but it still reminded her of that rain.

"Vincent, hurry up and get back," the cinnamon-eyed woman sighed, lying flat on her back on top of the beautifully patterned bright red top quilt of the bed. This was the exact same room that she and Sephiroth had been in all of those years ago, she was sure of it.

The walls were cream-colored, unlike the bright white walls of the rest of the inn's many rooms. Also, there was only one bed, while every other room had two or three small beds. The one she was lying in at the time was a large king-sized one. The scar in the oak wood flooring, she knew, was from when the silver-haired man tossed the Masamune aside, having no need for the long sword for what he was going to do…

Mentally, Tifa shook herself. _Don't be so scared. He didn't actually sleep with you. You know that!_

She hated this room. Memories of that night kept flooding back to her. She could feel herself shaking—for a minute, she swore he was in the room, giving her the same lustful look he had given her five years ago.

A long, shaky sigh escaped her lips. Truth be told, she was still a virgin just because her father just so happened to be coming down the hallway at that point to check up on her…

"Papa…" she murmured, suddenly missing him just as much as she did the night she saw him killed.

She bit her lip to fight back a scream when a warm hand suddenly rested its palm on her forehead. Sitting bolt upright, she looked, panicked, at the person the hand belonged to, and let out a small sigh of relief.

It was Vincent.

"Are you alright, Tifa…? You were pale, shaking, and sweating. Your eyes were wide and you were staring at one spot in the ceiling. For a moment I was worried you were having some sort of internal attack…" Vincent said softly, sitting next to the woman.

"…This is the same room Sephiroth was in five years ago…" she said reluctantly, her lips barely moving as she spoke, making her words barely understandable.

"I'm assuming that you have bad memories of this room, then," the man murmured, gently brushing loose strands of Tifa's dark hair out of her wine red eyes.

Tifa nodded once, leaning into Vincent's comforting warmth, allowing him to wrap his natural arm around her.

"Oh, before I forget. Do you still have a craving for pickles?" the expert gunman asked.

Tifa almost laughed. She'd forgotten about her pickle craving, truth be told, but she nodded any way.

The man didn't want to lose his embrace on the woman but let go of her anyway, standing up to grab the brown paper bag of food he'd bought. He pulled out a small jar of small pickles and handed it to her.

"…You can have them all. I was never too fond of pickles," he said as she unscrewed the bronze colored lid.

"Thanks, Vincent," the martial artist giggled.

"No problem. But by the way you were craving pickles, one might think you were pregnant…"

Tifa could detect the slight worry that was badly masked in the tone of voice he was using. "I'm not," she assured him after swallowing the several small pickles she had stuffed into her mouth. "I'm a virgin. Virgins can't be pregnant."

"I know. I just worry about you sometimes."

"Why are you worried about me being pregnant? The only way I'd become pregnant is if you had sex with me, and unless there's something you're keeping from me, Vincent Valentine, we've never done that," she said, raising one eyebrow.

Vincent kissed the top of her head. "I'm not keeping anything from you."

"I'm glad…"

There was a long silence as Tifa finished her pickles and Vincent slowly consumed some of the other food-type items he had purchased. The dark-haired woman didn't like the silence. Memories of the room she didn't want to have kept flooding back to her.

Walking across the room to throw away the empty jar of mutilated (yet delicious) cucumbers known as pickles, she shook her head. She really shouldn't be afraid. That had happened years ago.

"I'm going to brush my teeth to get the pickle smell off of my breath," she muttered to her captive, who nodded.

"I'll be in here," he said evenly as Tifa dug her toothbrush out of her bag of belongings.

Once inside the relatively medium-sized bathroom, her hand moved towards where the toothpaste (courtesy of the staff of the Nibelheim Inn) was lying on the marble counter. Then, her cinnamon paused on a small bottle of a certain hair-care product.

"This is the same type of hair gel Cloud uses," she observed, picking the small squeeze bottle of greenish hair gel up to get a better look at it. Opening the cap, she sniffed it, and suddenly felt nostalgic. It smelled like Cloud after he did his hair.

"…Cloud…" she muttered. She knew he must be extremely worried about her by now—she'd been captive for over one week. Then Tifa remembered that she'd come in here to brush her teeth, and did so, though it didn't make her stop missing her spiky-haired friend.

"That took a bit long," Vincent observed as he watched his captive exit the bathroom and come towards the bed, where he was seated.

"There was a bottle of hair gel in there. It was the same type of hair gel that Cloud used. It even smelled like Cloud so it made me miss him…more than a little…" she admitted, sitting next to the gunman.

"I don't want to let you go, Tifa, but I can assure you that you will regain your freedom sooner than you may think," Vincent said in a comforting tone of voice, despite the fact that his demons were screaming at him not to tell her that.

The wine-eyed woman gave the man a small smile and edged closer to him. In response to this action, Vincent slid his natural arm around her waist, pulling her into his warmth (though she didn't make any signs of being cold).

"…Would kissing you right now be a bad thing to do?" he asked, somewhat timidly.

"No. If you wish to, go ahead," Tifa replied, her cheeks becoming scarlet as she said that.

"Are you sure…? I mean, it will not bring back bad memories…?"

"As long as you don't yank off my shirt, I won't be afraid," Tifa assured him, moving gently onto Vincent's lap.

"Well then."

Without further hesitation, Vincent closed his lips over Tifa's, and they gently nibbled on each other's lips for a moment before the gunman deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue skillfully into his partner's mouth. Tifa let out a quiet moan as he did so, and threaded her fingers through Vincent's hair. He slanted his head forward slightly and began thrusting his tongue into her mouth again and again, stroking hers gently every time.

This resulted in a slightly louder moan from Tifa and she moved one arm around his neck and slid her other hand to one spot on the back of his head, pulling him closer.

A low groan escaped Vincent and he pulled the woman so that they were both lying on their sides. He allowed the kiss to continue for a couple of minutes and then, though neither of them wanted to stop, he pulled away to prevent this from going dangerously far.

"I love you, Vincent," Tifa whispered, her gaze locking with his as she pulled her arm away from the back of his head to rest on his chest.

"I love you too, Tifa."

* * *

"Okay, the engine's ready for take-off! So, Cloud, we're dropping you off at yer damn destination first, right?" Cid bellowed.

"Right. Nibelheim," the spiky-haired young man replied, nodding once.

"Okay then! Take off, bitch!" grumpy old Cid shouted at the pilot that was driving at the time. She cringed at being called a "bitch" but took off nonetheless.

Once the Highwind landed at Nibelheim, Cloud departed the airship and entered the town he was born in.

"Let's see…three places I should definitely check are Tifa's old house, the mansion, and probably the inn as well…" he said, pondering over which place to check first.

Finally, he decided.

He was going to check the inn.

* * *

Yumesuta: Not much of a cliffhanger…looks like Vincent and Tifa are gonna have their moment broken! What will happen? If I get enough reviews, I'll update and you'll find out. So…REVIEW! Please! 


	18. Cloud!

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII isn't mine. No part of it is mine. I do, however, own the redheaded inn employee. Feel free to take her and toss her carelessly into anything you may be writing.

Note: Writer's block. EXTREME writer's block. Short, crappy chapter. I am SO sorry!

* * *

Chapter 18: Cloud!

Sometime during their time holding each other, Tifa had fallen asleep with a small, serene smile playing on her slightly wet lips. To any other couple, the moment would have seemed fairly ordinary, maybe even boring. Nothing sexual was really going on, unless you considered the way they were holding each other sexual. Vincent's embrace on the woman wasn't "that type" of embrace—it was more the way a father would hold his sleeping daughter, maybe even the way a mother would hold a child. It was more protective and caring than anything else.

But as Vincent disentangled himself from Tifa's arms, his gaze locked on her quietly sleeping face, it was a very special moment for him indeed.

**He was smiling.**

This rare facial expression (rare for this man, at least) was not destined to last long, though—not at this particular moment, not on this particular day.

No, as he walked towards the window to watch the soft rain fall and contemplate what to do next, the smile still lingering on his handsome lips, he was completely oblivious that one of the things he didn't want to happen would be happening very shortly…

* * *

Cloud's heart was beating faster than a racing chocobo's feet hit the ground when it was high on adrenaline as he entered the relatively tiny inn.

"Hello sir and welcome to the Nibelheim Inn! Will you be renting a room?" the employee at the counter—a highly freckled young woman with bright, somewhat unruly red hair that looked younger than Yuffie—asked, flashing a smile that was obviously fake, but still a good attempt.

"Yes…I mean, no. I mean…" He let out a tired sigh and approached the counter. "Have you seen this woman?" he asked, handing the redheaded employee a photo of Tifa.

"Umm…" the redhead started, her annoyingly high-pitched voice trailing off as she examined the photo. "Yeah, she came in with some man."

"What did this man look like, and did you get his name…?" Cloud was extremely anxious. "And more importantly, are they still here? It's very, very important."

"…Yeah, the dude signed in as Vincent Valentine. Cool name, huh? Long hair, red eyes, a long, torn-up red cape, 'n a huge-o metal claw for an arm. He looked like some character from a video game," she mused.

"Is he still here?" Cloud repeated.

"Yep! The pair's still here," said the redhead. "'N so why's it important?"

"The woman, Tifa, is a very good friend of mine, and the man—Vincent—kidnapped her…I need to know what room they're in. I'll even pay you if you do," Cloud persuaded.

"Mmk, 'n ya don't even have to pay me. Room three-oh-five," she said, handing Cloud the key.

"Thank you."

Heart pounding even faster, he headed slowly towards the room the freckled girl had told him…

* * *

"Vincent…?"

Her tired, quiet voice called out to him suddenly, breaking him out of his thoughts. Miraculously, the smile was still on his face.

"Yes, Tifa?" Vincent murmured, praying that his smile would still linger when he looked at her.

It did.

"What are you doing over…" The cinnamon-eyed woman's voice faded away as she examined his face. "You're…you're smiling…!"

"Yes, I am. Unfortunately it will not last long…or is it a blessing that it will not last long?" the man asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You look…" Tifa paused and briefly kissed Vincent. "…Good," she finished when she pulled away.

"Thank you."

As a knock sounded on the door, Vincent's smile faded.

_That sounds like Cloud's knock,_ Tifa thought, and in her mind, the hope that it would be Cloud battled with the hope that she'd be able to stay with Vincent.

As though reading her thoughts, the gunman frowned. "Stay here," he whispered as he stood up. Tifa obediently remained on the bed as Vincent walked towards the door.

A faint click sounded as the red-eyed man's natural hand grasped the bronze doorknob and opened the aforementioned entryway.

Blue-green eyes met red eyes in an intense glare.

"…Hello, Strife," Vincent said, spitting out Cloud's last name as though it would hurt him if he said it normally.

"Valentine," Cloud said evenly with a curt nod, quickly pressing the button he'd instructed the others to press if they found one of the two.

"I don't suppose you'd like to come in now, would you…? And close the door behind you."

Any fool could tell that Cloud did not want to take orders from this man by the expression on his face, but he did so anyway.

* * *

Yumesuta: I feel really stupid for making you wait so long. Now that I finally updated, the chapter's crappy. I am SO sorry, I promise I'll work harder on this. 


	19. The Fall

Disclaimer: …Is there any particular reason I have to put this thing in every

chapter? DOES ANYONE EVEN READ IT?

Note: Hoo, boy! Sorry about the agonizingly long wait for this chapter. Stuff's been going on. Huh? What kind of stuff, you ask? Well why should I tell you, huh? Er, anyway, I'm still busy so this chapter might be kinda short and cruddy. Sorry!

Second Note: If I make Vincent sound like a total asshole in this chapter, I'm really, really sorry. Keep in mind that I didn't mean to.

* * *

Chapter 19: The Fall

"Cloud!"

Tifa looked at the blonde man, his name coming from her mouth before she could think about it. Hearing her, he turned to embrace his friend but was stopped by Vincent.

"…My apologies but the deal has not yet been made," Vincent said, frowning slightly. He really did hate having to act like this, but Chaos wouldn't let him do anything else.

"Deal?" Cloud said. His voice was calm, but in the way air was calm before a storm. "…There is no deal, Vincent. I don't give a crap about your pathetic excuse for kidnapping Tifa. Solitude? Bullshit. You don't want solitude, you want her ass."

The red-eyed man just stared at Cloud, one eyebrow raised slightly. "I see you put a lot of thought into this," he said mockingly.

"Yes, Valentine, contrary to popular belief, I do have a brain and I do use it."

"Of course you do, Strife…of course you do…"

"Guys…!" Tifa said pleadingly. Her best friend, and her lover; she didn't want either of them to fight. She didn't want either of them to get hurt.

"Oh by the way, Vincent," said Cloud, almost ignoring Tifa…almost. "The Highwind is on its way so no matter what 'master plan' you think you have, you're screwed. Six against one? Even with your stupid demons you're going to die, Valentine, and I personally will make sure you do."

"Cloud!" Tifa gasped.

"I see. I was hoping that this would not have to resort to violence but I guess I'll have to kill you before your lapdogs arrive," said Vincent calmly. Chaos was slowly taking control.

"The room's too small. Shall we take this outside?" Cloud offered with mock respect.

"Sure thing…"

Tifa was in a daze for the next few minutes. When she snapped out of it, she blinked in surprise—the first thing she knew, they were all still in the inn room, and the next, they were somewhere on a cliff on the Nibelheim Mountains.

"I'm not going to fight you right now, Vincent," Cloud decided, leaning against the broad, rocky wall of the gray cliff. "That wouldn't be a good idea…the ledge we're walking on is too narrow, and one of the three of us could easily get pushed off. Including Tifa. I don't want to put her in any more danger than she's already faced…"

Vincent, the real Vincent, nodded. "In all honesty Strife, I don't want her to be harmed either."

"Then why the hell did you…?"

"That is none of your concern."

Judging by the red-eyed man's icy tone, Tifa could guess that Chaos was now in control…and she could tell by the look in his eyes that the demon actually _was_ in control.

"You're an odd man, Vincent. A very odd man in fact," Cloud said coolly. "…I see the Highwind coming. Let's go."

The bartender didn't know why Chaos was being so obedient to Cloud.

Then she heard a click.

Chaos was going to shoot Cloud…and she couldn't let that happen.

"CLOUD!" she screamed, flinging her arms around him from behind to shield him, just as a shot rang out. A piercing, hot pain appeared in her lower back…and she felt something warm trickle down from the pain…"Ugh," she groaned, her hands falling loose, losing their grip on her friend as gravity pulled her in the wrong direction.

She fell down, off of the cliff.

Cloud watched as she fell, in shock—the last thing he saw of her then was her half-closed burgundy eyes, empty, cold and lifeless, staring up at them as her dark hair whipped wildly around her face before she disappeared into the misty abyss below.

"…Tifa…" he squeaked as soon as he realized what had just happened.

"_I won, Vincent,"_ Chaos silently taunted. _"The girl is dead. How does that make you feel?"  
"Liar…"_ Vincent replied. _"She can't be dead. There is no way in the Planet that Tifa Lockheart can be dead. There is no way. There's just no way…"_

"What…" Cloud snarled. "…The hell…did you just do…"

Chaos let Vincent take control of himself back at that very moment.

"I don't know," Vincent said honestly. "But whatever it is that I just did, I regret it greatly."

"Oh, sure as hell you do. You'd better."

Vincent peered over the edge where Tifa had fallen. _She just can't be dead,_ he thought desperately. The thought was so horrible. He'd loved her—he still loved her—more than he had loved Lucretia, and now, she was dead by his hand.

_No._

Both were perfectly aware as the Highwind approached and remained stationary in the air by the cliff the two men were standing on.

Yuffie, who was standing on deck, looked between Vincent and Cloud several times. "Somethin's missing…" she observed, then smacked her forehead. "Oh duh! Where's Tifa?"

Cloud cringed slightly and pointed to the spot she fell.

Cid's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Oh. Well, uh…shit. Git yer asses onboard and I'll see what I can do."

Before he even had time to think, Vincent was on the deck with Cloud as they headed towards where the bartender fell.

* * *

Yumesuta: DON'T HURT ME! Mixing a cliffhanger with a crappy, short chapter isn't a good thing to do but I'm sorry! Stuff really gets in the way of my updating these fics. I PROMISE the next chapter will come soon! I PROMISE! So please review. 


	20. Recovery

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

Note: I'm sorry to announce that this story is probably coming to a close pretty soon.

* * *

Chapter 20: Recovery

Vincent stared over the railing on the deck of the Highwind, feeling sick with himself. _I should have jumped off of the cliff after her. I shouldn't have boarded this ship. Tifa could be dying; no, she could already be dead and who's going to find her? This ship is too slow…!_

"…Cloud," the gunman finally said.

"What, Valentine?"

Glancing at him briefly, Vincent said, "You don't look too concerned…Your best friend just fell off of a cliff after getting shot…and you're barely even frowning."

Cloud sighed. "Well…I know she's going to be okay. She's fallen off of a cliff before…Even though she went into a coma for a week she survived. She was young then, and now she's older. She's stronger now. She HAS to be stronger now. I'm not worried…"

"Strife," Vincent sighed, climbing on top of the handrail. "Many can survive a fall but a bullet could kill even the strongest. I'm…I'm going after her…"

"WHAT? No, Valentine. You're not killing yourself before—"

"Before what, Strife? Before you kill me? The Highwind is too damn slow! TIFA COULD ALREADY BE DEAD AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT I SHOULDN'T GO AFTER HER? I DON'T THINK SO!"

"Ooh," Yuffie said from the corner. "I'm telling Cid what you said about his ship!" With that, she dashed off.

Cloud, on the other hand, was shocked. He'd never seen Vincent angry…or with any other type of emotion for that matter. "Vincent! Why the hell does she matter so much to her? You kidnapped her, damn it…"

"MAYBE I DID, STRIFE, BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY…"

"Do you love her?"

That wasn't a question Vincent could answer…not right now. _If I loved her, I would have gone down with her,_ he thought…and then, he jumped, ignoring the surprised shouts of the few Avalanche members that were on deck.

Vincent made himself compact, tight, and small, like a bullet, like something that could speed through the air. The ground was rising to meet him at an almost alarming rate. Somehow, he managed to land without hurting himself too badly. The Highwind was still very much above him and it would take at least fifteen minutes for the ship to reach the ground.

Glancing around, he tried to spot where Tifa had landed. After a few moments, he spotted a dark-haired woman, lying on her back…

_Tifa._

He scrambled over to her, kneeling beside her and immediately checked her pulse. It was there—it was weak, but the important thing was that she wasn't dead. How close she was to death didn't matter, as long as she was alive…

"…Vincent?" the woman muttered quietly, turning her head to look at him. "Are you okay?"

"…I'm fine, Tifa. Why do you ask? You should be worried about yourself more than me."

"Your hands are shaking," Tifa said weakly, trying and failing to sit up.

"Of course they are. I'm…scared." He glanced down at his arms, which had, almost by instinct, wrapped around Tifa to hold her…Even his mechanical arm was trembling.

"Scared? What are you scared of, Vincent?"

"…I'm scared you might die…Your voice sounds very weak, and you can barely even move. Tifa, I don't want you to die…"

"Vincent…" the woman said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her fingers curled around the man's upper arms and she pulled herself up to him, pressing her lips against his very gently. "I love…" She fell limp.

Panicked, he checked her pulse. She was still alive but her heartbeat was weaker than ever. "Don't die on me, damn it…" he muttered, not aware of the fact that tears were forming in his crimson eyes. "…And I love you too."

Vincent stood up slowly, trying to hold Tifa in a way that, hopefully, wouldn't hurt her too much. Her back was still bleeding but, thankfully, not as much as the man thought it would be.

"Hang in there," he whispered, looking around to try to find a place where he might be able to help her…Seeing nothing, he reluctantly decided that all he could do right now was wait for the Highwind…

* * *

"What the hell was he thinking?" Cloud grumbled, staring over the handrail on the ship's deck. "Jumping over like that…The idiot…"

"I can see him," Red, who had also decided to look over the handrail, announced. "I think he found Tifa."

"Oh Holy she isn't moving!" the blonde leader said, failing to mask his worry.

"But she could still be alive," Red said, nudging Cloud's arm—his equivalent of a reassuring shoulder-pat. "We're getting close enough to the ground where you could probably jump off without getting hurt, if you so wish."

Cloud gritted his teeth together. "…Make sure the others know where I am, okay, Red?"

"Sure thing."

Cloud nodded once, carefully climbed on top of the handrail…then jumped.

He wasn't all that used to falling through the air…and though he'd done it several times before, it was never really something he enjoyed doing…Thankfully, when he landed, he didn't hurt himself, except for a bruise.

Vincent was somewhere to his left…Standing up, he headed in that general direction until he saw him.

"You found her?" Cloud called.

The gunman turned to face Cloud, and nodded. "…She is still alive, just unconcious. She was awake a couple of minutes ago…"

"Did she say anything?"

"…Nothing extremely important."

Cloud frowned. "…If you say so…"

"What do you suggest we do?" Vincent asked, still holding Tifa. "…And…don't worry about the deal, Strife. There was none."

Cloud nodded. "…Yeah, I know you probably wouldn't shoot her…or anyone else on the team. So, I guess I forgive you. For now, anyway…" He scratched the side of his chin once. "And about what we should do…I don't know…I suppose all we can do for now is wait until the Highwind gets down here."

"…Here it comes now."

* * *

Vincent managed to get her cleaned up a little bit, and Cloud had helped him bandage her. Now she was in her bed. Though Tifa's heart was still beating, she still wasn't awake, and other than breathing she hadn't given any other sign of life.

"…She'll pull through," Cloud said, squeezing her hand gently. He hadn't left her side. "She has to."

"Uh…But what if she doesn't?" Yuffie asked in the typical Yuffie style.

"Yuffie!" Red hissed.

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "…She will. She has to," he repeated. "There's no way we're going to lose her. We should probably leave her alone now…Give her some room to breathe…"

The team nodded, practically in unison before emptying out of the woman's room, minus Vincent and Cloud.

"I thought you told everyone to leave?" Vincent asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes and that includes you…"

"And yet you are remaining here."

"She's my best friend, Vincent…I can't just leave her here, all alone. What if she wakes up and no one's here?" the spiky-haired man sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. "And why are you still here, anyway?"

"…You don't have to be the best friend of someone in order to wish for them to recover, Cloud. I want to make sure she's okay," Vincent explained, not really wanting to admit to anyone except for Tifa that he loved her just yet.

Cloud raised one eyebrow, obviously suspicious that Vincent wasn't telling the entire truth. "…If you insist," he muttered.

Vincent nodded once. "And I do insist," he said. "I assure you she can't get any worse right now."

"I thought she was in good condition!"

"She is. At the moment there is no way for her to get worse, not immediately anyway. Keep an eye on her, Cloud…" Vincent sighed and exited the room, heading for his own. _I don't want to leave her…but I don't want Cloud to know that I love her, either…that would only cause more trouble for her. Also I don't want Chaos to take control and kill her…it's for the best that I stay away at the moment…_

* * *

Yumesuta: I won't respond to reviews through the fanfiction anymore because of the new rule so if you give me a review that I need to reply to, I'll send you a message through the new system. Speaking of which, I hope I get a lot of reviews! 


	21. Love Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

Note: This story won't continue on for much longer. Sorry.

Second Note: Parts of this chapter might sound like CloTi. It's not, though, just so you guys know.

* * *

Chapter 21: Love Revealed

Tifa didn't wake up the next day, though her pulse was a bit stronger. Occasionally, she mumbled something quietly in her deep sleep…Usually, her mumbled phrases and words didn't make much sense, but occasionally Cloud caught a name—usually a member of the team.

"Hang in there," Cloud muttered to her sleeping ears. Tifa unconsciously frowned and muttered something about a mountain.

* * *

Vincent leaned on the handrail of the deck of the Highwind, staring gloomily at the ground passing below them. He had to figure out something to do about Chaos, and fast, before his plan of Tifa's death actually pulled through.

_Maybe I should go check on her,_ he thought, and sighed as his metal hand fell to his side, slipping from the handrail. _I just want to make sure she's okay…_

Deciding he'd check on her now, he turned around and entered, stepping into the elevator by the conference room that would take him to the hallway with everyone's bedroom. Tifa's room was at the far end so he'd get there in about a minute.

Cait Sith stopped him.

"What are you doing down here?" Cait demanded.

"I just wish to see how Tifa is doing," Vincent calmly explained.

"Sorry, but a traitor like you probably shouldn't visit Tifa," the mechanical plush said, narrowing its mechanical eyes.

"…I do not wish her any more harm than has already been inflicted upon her being. I merely wish to see if she is recovering at all."

"She's a little better. Tifa still hasn't woken up yet but she's speaking occasionally…Just unconcious blabber, but hey, better than nothing I guess. That's all you need to know. If you want to go to your room then go sleep in the chocobo stable," Cait Sith snapped harshly.

Vincent's eyes narrowed to dangerous crimson slits and he felt his human hand clench into a somewhat loose fist. "Get out of my way." This wasn't Chaos talking. This was Vincent talking, a Vincent that really wanted to see his loved one.

"No!" Cait Sith said, adjusting his mechanical eyes so that they were glaring at Vincent. "You're not getting through here!"

"I beg to differ."

"…Hey, can I get through here?" Yuffie asked, stepping off of the elevator, causing both of the occupants of the hallway to jump slightly.

"Sure thing!" Cait Sith said cheerfully, dramatically stepping aside for Yuffie to go through.

Once Yuffie was just barely past the mechanical cat, Vincent dashed through.

"HEY!" Cait Sith shouted after him, shaking his mechanical fists.

"Owies," Yuffie groaned, having been shoved into the wall.

* * *

"…Cloud…?"

The blonde man's eyes snapped wide open when he heard Tifa call his name. He turned to face her, still sitting by her bed. Her eyes were finally open; she was awake.

Cloud smiled, feeling euphoric that she was okay. "You're awake," he said softly, squeezing her hand slightly.

"How long was I out…?"

"Just a couple of hours. Don't worry, Tifa," Cloud said soothingly. "So how are you feeling?"

"A little sore…I'll be fine."

"I'm sure you will be."

"…Where's Vincent?" Tifa asked suddenly, trying and failing to sit up. She winced at the throbbing pain in her back and clenched her teeth together, forcing herself to sit up.

"I don't know…" Cloud raised one eyebrow. "Why?"

"…You know what happened isn't his fault, right, Cloud?" Tifa asked, frowning slightly. "Don't beat him up about it. He didn't…"

She silenced when there was a knock on the door.

"Just a moment," Cloud muttered quietly to his childhood friend, and she gave him a somewhat tired nod as he stood up, answering the door.

"Vincent?" the blonde asked, eyebrows raising slightly. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I just wondered how Tifa was doing…" Vincent said awkwardly.

"She's awake. Did you want to talk to her?"

"…Sure…why not?" the red-eyed man said, desperately hoping the fact he loved Tifa was well hidden, as he didn't want anyone to know. It would be awkward…

Cloud nodded and let Vincent in, stepping aside, keeping a careful eye on him to make sure he didn't try to do anything. Vincent approached Tifa a bit slowly, looking at her silently. Cloud understood.

"…You have ten minutes to apologize, Vincent," the blonde leader said before exiting the room.

Now they were alone. Vincent looked at Tifa again, unable to say anything.

"You don't have to apologize," Tifa said, smiling. "I know it's not your fault."

"So you trust me?"

"Of course I do, Vincent."

"I am glad."

"…Vincent? I want to stand up, do you think you could help me?" Tifa pleaded, reaching out one hand to the man.

The man hesitated for a moment, then considered that Cloud probably wouldn't try to murder him if he just helped Tifa stand. He grabbed her hand with his human one, gently pulling her up until she was on her feet.

"Thanks," Tifa said cheerfully. Vincent let go of her hand, seeing if she could stand on her own. The woman took a step forward, then stumbled, falling into him like a toddler that hasn't yet learned how to walk.

"Sorry…" Her mumbled apology and bright red face let the man know she hadn't fallen into him on purpose. Vincent took a hold of her waist, just to steady her, and Tifa pressed her hands against his chest, trying to stand without her legs shaking.

"How come I can't stand very well? It's annoying…"

"The fall probably affected your ability to stand. Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll be fully recovered soon," Vincent assured her, trying not to do anything that might end up awkward if Cloud were to walk into the room.

Tifa nodded, looking up at his face. She'd avoided eye contact until now…A haze filled both of their minds.

"Tifa…" Vincent murmured, lowering his head almost by reflex. "…I'm…I am just glad that you are alright."

The burgundy-eyed woman nodded, smiling slightly. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." She closed the small space between them, resting her head on his chest and Vincent was fine with that, so long as she was okay.

After a little while, Tifa lifted her head from Vincent's chest, smiling. "Whenever you want to let go, you can…"

"…Not right now…" Vincent mumbled.

Tifa nodded, and moved her head to use Vincent's chest as a standing pillow again, but never got the chance as a warm hand pulled her chin up until her lips met his gently. Tifa was fine with that.

Neither of them noticed as a certain little ninja watched silently from the doorway.

_Ooh, I am SO telling Cloud, _Yuffie thought, giggling silently as she rushed off to find the leader.


	22. Disbelief

Disclaimer: I own Final Fantasy VII about as much as I own China. Which means, I don't own Final Fantasy VII at all.

Note: …Actually, I can't think of any author's notes to put in here. Everything in this chapter is pretty much straight forward from the rest of the story…

* * *

Chapter 22: Disbelief

"I'm telling you the TRUTH, Cloud!" Yuffie shouted after her leader. She was having a little bit of trouble following his quick pace to Tifa's room.

"Heh, we'll see about that," Cloud muttered, not believing Yuffie at all. Vincent, actually _kissing_ Tifa? Vincent, actually showing some sort of emotion at all? No, Cloud just couldn't believe that…at all.

He stomped through the hallway, and then paused before he opened Tifa's door…he was almost _afraid_ that Yuffie was telling the truth. If she _was_ being truthful, it wasn't that Cloud would be jealous of Vincent or anything…it was that his "baby sister" probably wouldn't need him any more. It's that fatherly thing, where dads don't want their daughters dating because the boy might take the girl away from him.

Cloud knew he was being greedy…but he couldn't help it. Almost cautiously, he opened the door…

Vincent was, indeed, kissing Tifa.

"Your ten minutes are up, Valentine," Cloud snapped in disbelief.

"…If you say so," Vincent said quietly, pulling away from the woman. He seemed strangely calm.

"Yes," Cloud said, giving a short, almost manic laugh. "I say so. Can I speak to you for a moment, Vincent?"

"I suppose," the gunman shrugged after helping Tifa back into bed. She couldn't manage to say anything.

"I TOLD YOU SO!" Yuffie screamed after Cloud as the two men walked past her.

Cloud led Vincent down the hallway until they reached Cloud's bedroom. The spiky-haired leader pushed open the door and entered, beckoning for Vincent to follow. The gunman reluctantly obeyed and Cloud shut the door, then delivered a hard blow across Vincent's face.

"And why did you find it necessary to hit me?" Vincent grumbled, rubbing the side of his face.

"Tifa's injured," Cloud seethed. "If you don't know how many men have ever attempted to take advantage of her when she was in perfect health, then ask her-— know that she'll tell you it was too many. And if you don't think it looked like you were patiently waiting for a time to take advantage of Tifa, you must be insane."

"I wasn't trying to—"

Cloud punched Vincent again, who grumbled, glaring at the leader.

"YEAH well it looked like you were trying to. Listen. We're going to go to the Northern Crater and try to defeat Sephiroth _tomorrow. _No one needs any extra gunk on her mind. That means she doesn't need _you_ on her mind. So, stay the hell away from her…"

Vincent stared at Cloud, then shook his head. "I can promise you that I won't hurt her. I cannot promise that I will stay away from her. Now, if you'll _excuse_ me I need to prepare for tomorrow." With that, he slammed open the door and left.

"Bastard…" Cloud growled, fists clenched as Vincent left.

* * *

Vincent, unheeding of Cloud's warnings purely out of spite, headed straight back to Tifa's room. After all, it wasn't like he was going to hurt her or anything…he only wanted to see her. Of course, he still respected Cloud as a friend and a pretty good fighter but he knew when he was being reasonable and unreasonable.

"_What do you mean, Cloud's being unreasonable?" _Vincent was surprised to hear Gallian Beast's voice for once. _"He was just being protective of his, quote-unquote, 'little sister' because he doesn't want her to get hurt…"_

"_Well," _Chaos laughed, _"the woman is going to get hurt anyway. She'll die, actually! Right, Vincent?"_

Vincent didn't answer. Instead he froze halfway down the hallway…maybe it was best he didn't go see Tifa. He did, after all, still have his gun with him.

Knowing that Chaos would probably make him shoot Tifa as soon as he entered her bedroom, he instead retired back to his, sighing.

* * *

"Hi Cloud," Tifa murmured sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she sat up to look at the man who had just entered her room.

Cloud smiled, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. "Hey Tifa. Feeling any better?"

"Yeah. It doesn't really hurt so much now. Mostly, I'm just tired. Don't worry about me," she assured him, smiling warmly.

He nodded. "…Hey…if this isn't a bad time, I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Sure, you can talk to me about anything, Cloud," Tifa promised, giving him another tired smile.

Cloud nodded. "You and Vincent…when I came into your room earlier he was kissing you. You…you aren't in a relationship with him, are you?"

The smile slid off of Tifa's face. "…Actually, Cloud…"

He stared at her, suddenly not smiling any more. "You're in a relationship with Vincent."

"…Well, yes. I don't see how that's bad—"

"You don't see how it's bad? Tifa! The man kidnapped you, God damn it! He kidnapped you, shot you in the shoulder, put you in all kinds of danger and you're telling me you **love** him?" Cloud demanded.

Tifa opened her mouth, then closed it and sighed. "Cloud—"

"Wait just a second! I'm not done!"

"Cloud…"

"Was this just some kind of trick to fool me? Did you two fall in love and decide to make this scheme just to make me mad or something?"  
"Cloud."

"Or did you **let** him kidnap you for some sick reason? Were you two so mad at not being able to get some 'alone' time together, that you had to run away and fake a kidnapping?"  
"Cloud?"

"Honestly, Tifa! Forgiving someone right after they kidnap you really isn't normal! It's suspicious! Tifa—"

"CLOUD!"

"WHAT?"

Cloud's breathing was heavy with anger. He looked down at Tifa and suddenly felt guilty when he noticed she was on the brink of tears. No, that wasn't right. He was her big brother! He wasn't supposed to make her cry!

And yet, he did.

"…Look, Cloud. I didn't want to be kidnapped; do you honestly think I'd do that to you…? And y-you can't exactly help it when you fall in love with someone! He wasn't…I didn't want to be kidnapped and I was scared, okay? I was scared. But he didn't hurt me…never on purpose, anyway. And he took care of me…he kidnapped me, yes, and he should have never done that. But…I came back safe; I was only hurt by accident. _Pure accident. _Okay?" Tifa said quietly.

Cloud was silent for a moment, then just nodded, kissed her forehead in a fatherly manner (FATHERLY manner, mind you) and stood up. "You should get some rest," he said softly before leaving.

* * *

Yumesuta: Crappy chapter, I apologize. Anyway, please review! There won't be too many more chapters after this. 


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